The Serpent's Tongue
by Animagus Sugar Glider
Summary: Albus and James are back for another year at Hogwarts but suddenly everything changes due to a strange and mysterious series of events. Without warning the two brothers find themselves forced to work together to unearth an incredible secret. Sequel to The Secret Treasure of Hogwarts, previous reading of which is recommended but not necessary.
1. Escaping Willard Dursley

**The Serpent's Tongue**

**Chapter 1**

**Escaping Willard Dursley**

James glanced over his shoulder at his grandparent's house as he vaulted over the garden gate and headed towards the village at a steady trot. A steep downward hill led to his friend Blue's house on the edge of the road leading from Ottery St Catchpole . James made a beeline for the small garage where his friend lived. He'd been waiting to do this all day but his annoying cousin Will kept following him everywhere.

Willard Dursley didn't usually spend the summer with him but as he would be attending James's school, Hogwarts, in September Will's parents had thought it would be useful for him to spend the summer with James and his family to get use to the way things were. You see, Hogwarts, was no ordinary school, it was a school for children with special abilities; it was a school for young Witches and Wizards.

James was now in his third year at Hogwarts and his brother, Albus, was starting his second. James's whole family was magic. His parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins - but Will wasn't like the rest of them. Will's parents were Muggles **(**non-magic people**) **with ordinary lives and ordinary jobsand upuntil recently,a perfectly normal child. Their fathers, Dudley Dursley and Harry Potter,were cousins and had grown up together but they weren't particularly close. Every Christmas James's family would receive a cheery card with a picture of a bad-tempered kid in it and the Dursley's would receive an equally cheery card with a picture of James, Albus and their little sister Lily.

This way the two families could be polite and cordial without having to deal with each other in person. James could now see why this arrangement had been so much better.

Willard was a very spoilt child, overly competitive and veryused to getting his way. It had been a huge shock to his system to be sent to spend most of his summer holidays with a bunch of rowdy five to twenty year old witches and wizards camping out behind a ramshackle house in the middle of nowhere. Despite allthis it seemed Will had settled in rather quickly.

The fifteen Weasley and Potter children spent theirSummer and Christmas holidays sleeping in magical tents which were much larger on the inside then on the outside. Even still it had been even more cramped and busy with Will adding to the numbers, James had been hoping that perhaps his grandmother Molly would protest and that Will would have to stay at home. However, she had been perfectly welcoming and invited him to stay and since then he had been following James around the Burrow like a lost sheep demanding to know every single detail about Quidditch.

Quidditch was the wizarding sport played on broomsticks with four balls and James loved it, he was on his house team at school! Sadly, when Will had heard about this it had resulted in him becoming James's shadow. When they had spent New Year's together at Will's house last year James had found him boasting about his football skills but with the discovery of Quidditch**,** footballhad been shunted to the side.

Though James usually loved to talk about Quidditch**,** Will's constant blabber was severely bugging him. Finally he had given up and played his last trump card and told Will that his cousin Molly was the vice captain of the team. He knew Molly was sure to have her revenge on him later but at this point James would do anything for some peace and quiet.

On top of this he had been longing to visit his friend, Blue, for days. On the last night of school James had made a discovery; he had tracked down a hidden treasure that himself**,** Blue and his other friends, Alex and Letitia, had been searching for all year. He didn't know what it was exactly and that was why he was going to Blue now**. **He was the brains of the operation. Also, in a couple of days time, James and his family (and Will) would be heading off to the Quidditch World Cup in the Philippines and this might be his last chance to leave what he had found in safe hands. Blue was the only person he could possibly trust with it.

Albus, much to James's disgust, was already in the Philippines with his friend Philip whose mother played on the Irish International Team. James was furious and jealous as Albus had free tickets to all of the Irish matches and he would only get to attend the final. Even still, this in itself was a major event. James was one of the only people he knew who would be able to go all the way to the Philippines to see the match.

As he approached the garage James could hear the sounds of Blue's brother, Conall, at work in the garage but he hurried past and made a beeline for the small newsagents that made up the ground floor of the Finch's house.

A little bell tinkled above the door as James entered the shop. Everything appeared perfectly normal and ordinary and no Muggle would ever have presumed that the thirteen year old behind the counter was a wizard in training. Blue looked up at the sound of the bell. He had been reading a book but he put it down and smiled at James happily.

"How's life at the Burrow?" Blue grinned.

James sighed, "Busy. How's business?"

"Quiet." Blue replied.

"You'll have some time to spare then. I want to talk to you."

James hopped up onto the counter and pulled the bulky wooden box he'd been carrying from under his light jacket.

"I was wondering when you'd turn up with that." Blue mumbled taking the box and opening it.

"Will's been following me everywhere." James muttered rolling his eyes, "I told you I'd leave it here while I'm at the Cup."

"Uh-huh." Blue said examining the small golden statue inside, "Just don't expect me to have figured out what it is by September."

James stuck out his bottom lip but shrugged, "You'll have a look though, right? And whatever you do don't forget to bring it back to school."

Blue gave him a disgusted look which clearly said, '_as if_' and then hurriedly stored the box under the counter as the bell tinkled signaling a customer. The boys stopped talking as a girl close to their own age wandered into the shop. They both watched her as she picked up a carton of milk and a box of batteries.

James, realizing that the staring was probably making her feel awkward quickly lapsed into easy chat,

"So, as I was saying**.** We're leaving on Saturday and Will's coming too."

"Eh** . . .** How many of you are going?" Blue asked acting casual.

James had to count them off on his fingers before answering, four from his family, plus Will and then six of his uncles and cousins, "Eleven. We're meeting Al and Rose there."

Blue nodded, "Sounds pretty busy."

"You bet but it should be fun anyway."James ginned getting excited just thinking about it.

"Percy not going?" Blue asked.

"No. He's way too busy." James said,"Molly and Fred are still allowed though."

"That's good. They'd have been furious if they missed it. What about Teddy?"

"Says he's too busy with study! I mean, come on, it's like a once in a life time opportunity!"

"More like once in every four years." Blue pointed out as the girl bought her supplies and left the shop, "Now! Tell me more about what happened on the last night of term."

Before James could even start they were interrupted by the bell yet again.

"Hi there James. Enjoying the holidays?" Asked Conall.

Conall was like a bigger, stronger-looking version of Blue with his lean, mechanic's build and his harder more grown up face but the same light brown hair and easy manner.

"Yep!" Replied James sliding off the counter to avoid trouble.

For only twenty-two years of age, Conall had taken on a lot of responsibility. Blue's parents had died when he was very young and for the past three or four years he had been running the shop and garage alone and taking fully guardianship of Blue.

"Can I go on a break now, Conall?" Blue asked.

"Sure, go get yourself some lunch and take a rest**.** I'll, man the counter for the moment."

James followed Blue into the back of the shop and up the stairs. Blue led him to his small, neat bedroom, which overlooked the road and the petrol pumps. James liked Blue's room. It was tidy and organized and suited Blue perfectly. There was a bed beside one wall**,** a small wardrobe and a desk**. **The walls were a pale blue and the single window was low on the wall so you could see out of it even if you were sitting on the floor which is what James did now, slumping downbeside the window as Blue sat in the swivel chair at his desk and turned to face him the wooden box sitting on his knees. Above him a large, old notice board stood on the wall with dozens of thumbtacks and newspaper articles, maps and notes stuck all over it. James often liked to read these but he knew it sometimes annoyed Blue as he was a very private person.

Before Hogwarts Blue had been incredibly shy and had only known James through his cousin Rose who had been friends with him for almost their entire lives. It hadn't seemed likely that loud, mischievous James and childish, prankster Alex would become such good friends withquiet, shy Blue but it was very handy to have Blue in the gang; he had gotten them out of a good few tight corners and he was the powerhouse behind planning their ideas in a way that meant they weren't so likely to get caught.

Even still, James had the unfortunate ability of landing himself in trouble wherever he went. In fact, he had spent the first half of the summer grounded in his family home in London. James knew this bothered Blue as he hated to stress Conall and was always trying to avoid trouble but somehow James always managed to drag him into it. It made James feel incredibly guilty and he'd much rather he got caught than Blue but sometimes it was simply unavoidable.

For example, last year, James had discovered a note written on the back of an old sweet-wrapper, which had led them on a treasure hunt that took the whole year to solve. Finally on the last night of term when they were so close to solving it James and Blue had been separated and Blue had to help James's brother Albus and his friend find a way back to Hogwarts with their injured rival in tow. James had found the treasure but it was impossible to avoid capture back at the castle. James, Blue, Alex, Rose, Albus and Albus's friend, Philip, had all ended up in the Headmistress's office in serious trouble for being out of bed, after hours, or rather,as James preferred to think of it - for being _caught_ out of bed after hours.

"Was Conall mad at you?" James asked, he knew Blue would know what he meant.

Blue shrugged, "More disappointed I think. He didn't say much but I could tell."

James nodded.

"He won't let me go out much but that's okay, there's nowhere to go anyway. I've been too busy to visit the Burrow much though I don't know if he'd have let me. I think he's happier to have you come here where we can't get into too much mischief." Blue explained.

"Fair enough, I guess. You'll be pretty bored stuck here for the rest of the summer though."

"Not really. I'm okay with working in the shop and there's only two weeks left. You been taking to Alex much?" Blue asked.

"No. Haven't been writing much. You?" James admitted.

"I wrote a little but he isn't exactly prompt with responding. He says he's bored and his sister's doing his head in and that's about it." Blue shrugged.

"I can't wait for usall tobe back in Hogwarts again**!** Even if it does mean classes and homework." James pulled a face, "At least we'll have lots to do again."

"I hope that doesn't mean you have something planned again." Blue said warily swiveling on his chair earnestly.

James raised his eyebrows, "I might **. . .**"

Blue sighed.

"I'm only messing. You just worry about finding out what that thing is and what it does and then we'll worry about what to do this year."

Blue took out the little gold statue and cleaned it thoughtfully. They were both quiet for a while. James looked around again, watching a car stop outside the window and fill up with petrol and then around the room again, tempted to have a good look at the noticeboard but trying not to. He focused instead on the bedside table near him where a large pile of books stood and a lamp. One single framed photo stood on it and James picked it up, tentatively glancing at Blue to see if he minded. Blue was still examining the ornament and didn't look up so James looked at the photograph in the cheap blue frame.

It was a family photo in which a woman with shoulder length blond hair smiled holding a laughing toddler on her lap with blue eyes and dressed in tiny baby clothes. Behind her stood a man who looked immensely like Conall with his hand on a boy's shoulder who stood next to his mom smiling shyly and looking no older than eleven.

He glanced again at his friend, '_Blue sure does look a lot like his parents_.' He thought recognizing Blue's mother's expression and her eyes and his father's hair and smile.

James put the picture back on the table carefully.

Blue sighed and looked up, "I really can't tell you anything yet but I'll work on it, okay?"

James nodded.

"What's in the letter?" Blue asked taking some dusty parchment out of the bottom of the box.

"It doesn't explain much." James shrugged.

Blue scanned it, "Okay, here's what we know about whoever wrote this. They're interested in history and archeology from the looks of it. Whoever they wrote this too is clearly a good friend, or at least they know each other very well. The clues were very precise, possibly personal and they knew they were going to die when they wrote this. However it is clear whoever they meant it for never received it."

James nodded and tried to soak up everything Blue was saying.

"See here," James stood up and peered at the faded writing over Blue's shoulder, "It says, '_no one else could apprehend my hunt without that first sweet wrapper_,' it looks like whoever this was intended for never got that sweet wrapper. What we need to find out is how you got it instead."

"I found it in a coat pocket, I told you that." James said puzzled.

"Yes but whose coat was it and how did it get there?" Blue wondered aloud.

James's head was spinning but Blue seemed perfectly relaxed.

"Also, I suspect his name was Forrest. That's why he misspelled it in the clue and he just signs '_F_' so it fits, what do you think James?"Blue said as if they were just discussing some homework or something equally mundane.

"Yeah, yeah that sounds really good." James agreed.

"When we get back to Hogwarts I'll start looking for wizards called Forrest, only problem is, it could be a first name or a surname** . . .**"

They both puzzled over the letter for a little whilelonger then Blue left to go to the bathroom. While he was gone James stood beside the desk looking at the letter but quickly losing interest. The statue that it accompanied was of a small golden snake, it was old and tarnished but after cleaning it up. James had found it was made of gold with silver fangs and detailing on the scales and what looked like shining emeralds for eyes. Whoever had written the letter had described it as their 'secret treasure' but it didn't seem too special to James. Valuable maybe but useful** . . .** in the letter it had said '_if at all possible, let it aid us in our fight_,' was it possible that the statue held some other use that he hadn't discovered yet?

James started looking around the room again in his boredom. Finally, he gave in and sneaked a glance at the noticeboard. Most of the items were newspaper articles, some about Hogwarts, others, local things about Ottery St Catchpole, an advertfor the garage, the opening of a new road which gave Ottery St Catchpole more access to the bigger towns around, his parents obituary pinned up in one corner and some more photographs, one of just Blue and Conall and another of James, Albus, Rose and Blue hanging out in front of the garage the summer before they had started Hogwarts.

One article caught James's eye, or more the picture did, as the writing was all in some language James couldn't understand. He knew Blue was very good at languages, last year he had learned to read an ancient form of Chinese used by wizards hundreds of years ago. The picture was hand drawn and it showed an old, crumbly castle; it wasn't Hogwarts, it looked more like a _chateau_ than just an ordinary castle and it stood on some high cliffy hills. The paper looked old and James could tell it was from a Muggle newspaper as nothing in the picture was moving.

Then he spotted a letter from Alex tacked up too. He read the last couple of lines**,**

'_There's no one to hang out with here and my sister keeps trying to get me to play dress-up with her. Can't wait to get out of here. We're going to visit my mom's sister on the coast for the weekend, at least there should be more to do there. They're super rich and live in this massive house – I'm going to try and ride through the halls on my broomstick! The ceilings are so high, I can't believe no one's ever tried it before. Can't believe James gets to go to the Quidditch World Cup! Especially, after all the trouble we got into!_

_See you in September,_

_Alex._'

James grinned, he knew he shouldn't get joy from his friend's jealousy but he couldn't help it. For someone who acted about five years old most of the time it seemed funny that Alex wouldn't want to play with his little sister.

'_She must be really annoying_.' James thought, thinking of Will and how he was putting him off Quidditch.

Blue came back into the room with some sandwiches, "Hungry?"

James thanked him and took one,

"What's this?" Heasked pointing to the article on the chateau.

"Oh, that's just an old castle in France near where my mom was born." Blue explained munching on a sandwich.

"Oh cool. Can you read that?"

"Not all of it."

After that James and Blue chatted about the summer, the new classes they'd be taking in September and the results of the Quidditch World Cup so far. England had just been knocked out of the running by the Japanese and Wales hadn't made it very far either but Scotland and Ireland could still win. Eventually James decided he had to get back to the Burrow and Blue said he needed to return to the shop.

It was cooler now than when he'd left the Burrow and the Devon air was crisp and cool. You couldn't see the Burrow from the road but James headed up a small track and followed it until eventually he reached the rickety building with its towering bedrooms piled one on top of the other and the tents perched in the garden. Even from here James could here noise issuing from inside and see a bad-tempered Willard kicking a ball around by the orchard. He sighed and swung open the gate and made his way over willing himself to think about the Philippines and the Quidditch World Cup.

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**Hi! Welcome to my fanfiction. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's just a little intro to James and what's happening. I'll have more up soon but there will be a slight delay with the next chapter because I mightn't have internet access for a while. Please subscribe to see when there is more and feel free to message me or send a review because feedback is really helpful!**


	2. The Quidditch World Cup 2018

**Chapter 2**

**The Quidditch World Cup 2018**

Sea spray rose along the sides of the boat and sprinkled Albus's face with cool, sparkling drops as he leant over the side of the boat and stared at the slowly shrinking outcrop of volcanic rock. He couldn't believe how lucky he was. He had just seen an amazing, dramatic semi-final of the Quidditch World Cup in which Ireland had beaten France by the width of a hair and in two days time he would be attending the final match between Japan and Ireland!

This was all thanks to his close friend Philip Pai and his generous family who had invited Albus and his cousin Rose to attend the World Cup with them as Philip's mom, Áine, was Keeper for the Irish team. Albus had been able to watch every single Irish match and even watch some of their practice sessions. It was definitely the opportunity of a lifetime!

Albus loved Quidditch. Both his parents were Quidditch enthusiasts and he had been flying around on a broomstick for as long as he could remember. This evening the rest of his family including some of his cousins would be joining them in the Philippines for the final.

At the moment he was staying with Philip's family and their Filipino relations on an island not far from the Quidditch World Cup arena. They had traveled by airplane, a first for Albus and Rose, to the Philippines and then by ferry to the island where Philip's Dad had been born and where they were now staying with Philip's grandparents. This was a little confusing because it turned out Philip's grandmother didn't speak any English and Albus couldn't understand what anyone was saying.

Even still, their trip so far had been a great one. The island they were staying on was beautiful and tiny, you could walk along tracks through the jungle-like trees for miles without seeing a single sign of human habitation or the modern world. Albus thought it was like a land lost in time. Along the coast tiny towns and villages dotted the shoreline filled with fishermen fixing their nets in their small boats and small children playing in the sand. The people of the island, were very generous and welcoming to visitors such as himself and his cousin, Rose. The children delighted in Rose's red hair and Albus's bright, green eyes. The people were also very traditional. There were hardly any cars on the island and they were not needed. The whole island was so small you could walk from one end to another and back again all in one day as had been proven by Philip, Albus and Rose who all loved roaming the island, Philip in search of wildlife, Rose snapping photography and Albus just enjoying the majestic lost world.

Philip's grandfather, like Philip had a way with animals. They would discover injured or sick wild animals, nurse them back to health and then release them back into the wild. Philip had already pointed out all kinds of rare birds and small animals on their walks. The family's home was always full of recovering animals and chirping birds on the windows or rafters. Rose and Albus loved every second of staying there.

In addition to this there was the World Cup itself. Philip who usually spent his summer traveling between his parents house in Dublin, one set of grandparents in Diagon Alley, London, and the other set of grandparents here. So naturally when it was declared that the Quidditch Cup was to be held in the Philippines this year it was perfect. His father could visit his family while his mother could compete in the Cup. Philip's mom had been an international player for many years and had already won the World Cup once but she had divulged to them in secret that this would be her last year. She had already secured herself a position working as a radio Quidditch commentator.

Obviously organizing a Quidditch World Cup was very difficult, as it had to be kept a secret from the Muggles, so the stadium had been located just off a tiny, uninhabited island blocked from the view of the nearest Muggle island by a large rocky outcrop. The stadium itself was incredible. The first time Albus had seen it, it had literally taken his breath away. Thousands of rows of raised seating surrounding a glorious pitch with giant golden hoops on either end and beneath the flying players, the deep blue of the sea. The uninhabited island nearby it was where the players and spectators were being housed. Everyone brought their own tents and camped on the beaches but Albus, Rose and Philip's family traveled to and from the stadium on a small boat for each match.

The journey itself had been another adventure entirely, one which Albus had found himself quite unprepared for. On the day they were leaving, Albus was staying at the Burrow with his grandparents and cousins when Rose had ambushed him and started lecturing him on precautions for the journey, it had all started when she had found a magazine article on 'how to fit in with Muggles'. Apparently, Albus, who had lived his whole life on a street full of Muggles, had got it all wrong. Immediately Rose had started correcting the way he acted, the way he talked, the way he dressed. It was infuriating! In the end however, Rose had been right - as she usually was.

They met the Pai family; Philip, his parents and his older brother Rangi in London where they had also been joined by Rangi's friend, Oswin. From there they had traveled to Heathrow airport. Albus had seen planes in the sky numerous times but nothing, _nothing_, could have prepared him for how big they were. He wasn't quite sure what he had been expecting but this wasn't it. And the people! Running all around. The noise, the movement, the sheer size of everything - Albus had wandered around with his mouth hanging open and his eyes ogling at the strange, busy Muggles drinking coffee and giant flying airships with Rose nudging him painfully in the ribcage with her elbow every couple of steps.

Albus was quite relieved to have made it to the plane without getting lost. Then there was the plane itself. Albus had been quite nervous at first; he had no idea how the Muggles managed to keep those enormous tin cans up in the air without magic.

However once they had taken off he didn't really care anymore. It was amazing. Albus had a window seat and could see everything! It wasn't as fun as flying on a broomstick but it was still pretty cool. Albus kept looking out over the land and sea, sometimes all they could se was the clouds. Another time, Albus found the airplane above the clouds and the sun alarmingly close. Pouring through the tiny window and lighting up the plane. Philip found his enthusiasm quite entertaining as he had traveled in airplanes his whole life with his Muggle father.

Albus liked Philip's parents. Most of all he liked them for bringing him on this trip. Albus thought Philip's dad looked a lot like Rangi only quieter and less tough-looking and Philip looked more like his mom with her wavy hair. Albus soon found out that despite his looks Mr Pai was nothing like his eldest son who was hyper and energetic, Mr Pai was a man of few words but Albus could tell he was kind and generous too. Philip's mother was as wild and cheerful as her sons with the same enthusiasm, if not even more, for sports.

The journey had been long and tiring and Rose had kept falling asleep on Albus's shoulder until it was numb. Albus had tried not to sleep at all, not wishing to miss anything on the journey. Rose had warned him constantly not to bring any wizarding books or games on the plane and he had very little to do. However Rangi had come up with the genius plan of inserting a magazine on the Quidditch World Cup inside the cover of an old copy of 'The Beano', which Philip and himself had pored over like it was their newfound bible for many hours. All the time, excitement for the Cup building in Albus's stomach.

Now Albus was here. It was as amazing as he had dreamed it would be. Staying with the Pais was a blast and the matches were jaw dropping and awe-inspiring. Albus barely slept but stayed up for hours going over every fine detail of the match with Philip.

Rangi was hilarious too. He was always looking for ways to play pranks on the locals and get around the strict 'no magical items' rule. The night before he had presented some 'Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans' to his younger cousins informing them that it was a delicacy from home and earlier that week he had tried to set up a portable swamp from Albus's uncle's shop, 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' before his mother had caught him and confiscated his supplies.

Throughout the week more and more wizards and witches had arrived on the nearby island though Albus saw no one he recognized. Himself, Philip and Rose were some of the only kids they knew in the school who were able to attend. Albus couldn't wait to tell the other boys in his dorm about it.

The first match Albus had attended had been an especially close call. It was Ireland against Transylvania and it had lasted almost seven hours. It was the longest match Albus had ever witnessed and had contained more fouls than Albus knew the names of. The Pai family and their guests had great seats in a large box with all the other families and friends of the Irish players. Albus and Philip were sitting beside a young girl who Philip introduced to Albus as Sora Wood.

Sora was ten and was starting Hogwarts in September. She was outgoing and high spirited though slightly irritating and a bit too competitive. As soon as she had been introduced to Albus her fingerless gloved hand grasped his and she shook it hard and started yapping away about the Quidditch matches she had seen and the players she had met. Sora's mother was also on the Irish team and was a very close friend of Áine's. She also knew all about Albus's mother Ginny and her time playing for the Holyhead Harpies and told him that her dad had played with his dad in school.

He soon got used to her dynamic nature and found her endless knowledge of Quidditch facts very interesting. Rangi also kept up a detailed commentary throughout the match which was both more informative and less annoying than Sora's though just as loud and dynamic. After a couple of hours, Albus found his head buzzing and throbbing as the two continued to prattle on often exchanging opinions and arguing.

Luckily, they hadn't been sitting beside Sora for the other matches though they had seen her a few times between matches and had talked to her about Hogwarts and Quidditch and the stadium. Rangi was still as excitable as ever but had toned down the commentary during the matches, restricting himself to just pointing out interesting facts on the players, the teams and the strategies. He was also constantly making notes in a small copybook on what he could use in his own matches and training once school started up again in September. He had already developed some complex new strategies to teach the Gryffindor team. Albus just hoped he would be learning them too as he hoped to try out for the house team this year.

Finally, the small boat they were packed into reached the main island and Albus hurried off towards the Pai family's home where dinner would be cooking. Before it came into the small party's sights however they were greeted with a fabulous surprise. Albus's large family was grouped nearby and as they spotted Rose and Albus they started waving enthusiastically.

Albus and his cousin ran over,

"Hi mom, hi dad! I didn't think you were arriving for another few hours." Called Albus as he reached them.

"We weren't meant to be but there was a change in Portkey times."Albus's dad told him giving him a quick hug, "We decided to come on over after we set up camp and see if you lot were around."

Everyone was there; his parents, Harry and Ginny, his little sister, Lily, his older brother, James, his second cousin, Willard, his uncles, Ron and George and four of his cousins, Molly, Fred, Hugo and Lorcan. Albus beamed, he couldn't wait to tell his dad about all the matches so far but first,

"Hey dad, you'll never guess who I met." Albus grinned, Harry looked at him curiously, "Your old Quidditch captain's daughter, Sora Wood. They're staying on the island where you're camping."

"Really?" Exclaimed Harry, "Oliver Wood's here! I haven't seen him for years! Ginny, we must go and see him."

Albus and Rose were happily catching up with everyone but soon they had to leave and get something to eat. After dinner, Albus, Philip, Rose, Rangi and Oswin returned to the nearby island where all the wizards were camping for the World Cup. It was becoming more and more crowded every day as spectators arrived from all around the world for the final.

Rangi was able to point out different supporters by their team colours and even introduced himself to a few foreign students from Mahoutokoro, a Japanese wizarding school who had very good English and were delighted to exchange thoughts on the Cup until they found out that he would be supporting Ireland in the final.

A huge number of Irish supporters had taken over one side of the island and had great green tents covered in flags and shamrocks. Soon they found the Potters' and Weasleys' tents and they spent the evening playing 'Exploding Snap' and other games in the comfortable tents while the adults went to visit Oliver Wood and other old friends.

Everyone was in good form and even Will was less disagreeable now that he was excited for the Quidditch match. He had also become an instant fan of Rangi and his stories, which kept them entertained for hours. Molly who was the eldest and technically in charge even let them eat the ice cream in the little fridge. They all spent the night on the island and, as there was not enough room in the tents for all of them, they grabbed sleeping bags and slept on the sand, under the stars.

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**Hope you liked this chapter! Reviews very welcome!**


	3. Fifty Fifty Odds

**Sorry for my lateness. Hope you enjoy!**

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**Chapter 3**

**Fifty-Fifty Odds**

James blinked as the sun streamed blindingly into his eyes. He sat up stiffly and peered around him as his surroundings came into focus. The ground was sandy and the trees were the only things giving shade from the bright sun overhead. Sleeping figures wrapped in sleeping bags stirred lazily around him but he seemed to be one of the first to wake. He rolled up his own sleeping bag and made his way to the nearby tent from which the sound of light chatting and the smell of coffee were wafting.

Inside it was cooler and more the light was dimmer. His mother and uncle, George, were having breakfast at a small, wooden table. James dumped his rolled up sleeping bag in a corner and grabbed a box of cereal suddenly starving.

"Sleep well, James?" His mom asked.

"Yeah." He shrugged, "Who else is up?"

"Hugo and Lily went down to the sea a while ago, Lorcan and Will went to join them a couple of minutes ago." George listed off, "Why don't you go and join them."

James merely grunted a reply and shoveled down his breakfast, he wanted to get a proper look around the island today and not to be stuck babysitting the younger kids.

* * *

Half an hour later he found himself scouring the campsite, it stretched on and on, the whole island covered in tents. Most campers were still snoozing in the shade of their tents but here and there early birds sat outside enjoying the sun and small children squealed their excitement as they ran between tents. James passed the Irish supporters with their emerald tents and bright green, white and orange bunting and the Japanese supporters with their flags emblazoned with red dragons clutching Quaffles in their claws. Finally he went down to the shoreline and scanned it for his sister and cousins. Lily, Hugo and Lorcan were splashing in the shallows, their red hair shining like beacons. Will was watching some older boys flying around on broomsticks playing some sort of piggy in the middle game with a large red Quaffle. James was about to turn and head back to the tent when he suddenly recognized two of the boys.

They were on the Slytherin Quidditch team at his school, James's teams' most hated oponents. One of the boys was the captain, Lysander Flint, who was the son of James's Flying teacher and also happened to be Rangi's greatest rival. The other boy James recognized as one of Flint's friends but he couldn't place his name. With a feeling of intense loathing he turned away, he didn't want them to see him here when he was alone.

When he returned to the tent everyone was up. Rangi, Oswin and his cousin, Fred, were sitting in the sun telling jokes. James joined them.

"What's up James?" Rangi asked noting his sour expression.

"Guess who I just saw down on the beach?" James grimaced, "Lysander Flint and one of his friends."

Rangi frowned, "I knew he'd be around here somewhere. He kept boasting about having tickets to the final."

Fred and Oswin had gone quiet as Rangi contemplated darkly on the news.

Suddenly he grinned, "Looks like we need to do a little spying! What do you say, Oswin, Freddy?"

Fred glanced at the tent, "Sounds good to me."

Oswin looked at Rangi worriedly as if fearing what might happen next. James understood his apprehension; Rangi often composed wild and reckless plans to cause trouble and wreak havoc and often ended up in an awful lot of trouble for his schemes. Still, if they were up for it, James was in – he wouldn't miss an opportunity to spice things up a little.

Rangi sent Fred to watch the boys and see where their tent was as he was the sneakiest of them. James and Oswin and Rangi went to see if there was anyone else on the island from school and were soon joined by Fred's grumpy sister, Molly, who was the Gryffindor Vice-Captain and one of Rangi's closest friends. She was polishing her beloved Beaters bat as she walked giving the deep black a nice shine.

"Why is _he_ here?" Molly demanded giving James a scathing look.

"Molly, be nice." Smiled Rangi giving James a quick wink to show that he was perfectly welcome.

This wasn't unexpected of Molly, James knew she was naturally suspicious of him, probably fearing that he would reveal to her strict father, Percy, just how unladylike she really was when she wasn't under his roof. Over the past year James had slowly learned that though Molly acted the perfect daughter at home, at school she was quite different. Though her grouchy attitude could be quite annoying, James knew from the Quidditch pitch how lucky they were to have her on the team and overall he respected that.

Most of the English spectators were gathered together near where their portkeys had arrived. Soon they saw one or two students James recognized from school and eventually they met Leopold Rankin and Julius Binns. Their greetings were short and formal and the parties met with equal distrust. Leopold Rankin was the captain of the Ravenclaw team at school and therefore another rival for Rangi though James didn't know how well they knew each other, only that they were in the same year. Leopold surveyed them with an easy-going smirk,

"Enjoying the summer?" He asked lazily.

"It's had its high points…" Molly said looking at him with disdain.

James was a little anxious; Rankin had managed to get himself permanently into Molly's bad books when they had fought last year.

Leopold grinned enjoying her annoyance,

"Do tell me Weasley? Do you actually do anything for _fun_? Or are such things below you?"

Rangi coughed, "So, nice weather, huh?"

"I wonder if you're going to be this cocky once we're out on the Quidditch pitch again?" Molly said through gritted teeth.

"I don't expect too much trouble." Smiled Leopold and James watched Rangi's expression turn stony.

"We'll kick your ass, Rankin." Rangi informed him.

"I believe it was I who kicked _your_ ass last year…"

"Only 'cause I wasn't there." Rangi glared.

Leopold waved his hand dismissively, "I hope you've all been practicing hard." He smiled, "I have big plans for my team this year."

"Oh I've been practicing all right." Smiled Molly slyly, "Here's a trick I've been working on."

She swung the Beater's bat she was still holding in an arc before it came down on Leopold's forearm. James had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing.

"Nice trick…" Muttered Leopold, grimacing and rubbing his arm.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Yelled Rangi suddenly, James stared at him in amazement, "You can't just go giving away your moves like that! Save it for the Quidditch pitch, Molly, then you can hit him all you like."

"Whatever." Replied Molly rolling her eyes, "I'm going back to the tent."

James watched as she yawned and walked away, still astonished at what had just happened. Rangi turned back to Leopold.

"So when do I get my money, Rankin?" He smiled dropping his voice ever so slightly.

"Sorry, Pai. Office closed 'til September." Grinned Leopold.

James looked at each of them curiously and then over at Julius who had remained silently by Leopold's side for the whole conversation. Julius was in the same year as James and though he didn't know him very well, James's friend, Alex, was well acquainted with him. Julius caught his eye and nodded giving him a small smile but didn't say anything. James returned the gesture and wondered why he seemed to be the only one who didn't know what was going on here.

"Aw, come on. You better not go dismissing this once we're back at school, Rankin. I won that money fair and square." Rangi added.

"I know. I'm not going to double cross you! You should know by now I run a clean game." Smiled Leopold and Julius nodded by his side, "I just don't have access to the money right now." Leopold explained, "It's not as if I carry all the club's money around with me wherever I go."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it." Muttered Rangi disappointedly.

James looked around curiously again waiting for someone to explain. Rangi, Leopold and Julius seemed focused on the conversation and Oswin was glancing around a little nervously.

"Still, Pai, you could always place another little bet just while we're on topic…" Smiled Leopold, "You know I bet you could double your winnings on the final alone. We've got almost fifty-fifty odds, could be interesting."

"You know I prefer higher stakes than that, Rankin… I like to play against the odds." Rangi grinned recklessly.

"You could make a special bet, more specific." Suggested Leopold.

Rangi looked thoughtful, "Okay then. I bet, four Galleons that, the match will last over two hours, there will be three chases for the snitch before it is caught and that it will be close – it'll come down to the snitch."

Leopold gave a low whistle, Oswin looked alarmed.

"Hm, those are interesting odds… I'm sure I can find someone to bet against that." Leopold mused.

"Oh and another two Galleons Ireland will win." Rangi added just for good measure.

Julius pulled out a notebook and quickly jotted it all down.

"Good talking to you, Pai. No doubt I'll see you in September." Smiled Leopold happily. "Pleasure doing business." Replied Rangi.

"Oh and by the way, try and get Weasley to enjoy the match at least. Make sure she's not too busy pouting to remember she's at the Quidditch World Cup final." Leopold added with a small laugh.

"Do you even have that much money?" hissed Oswin glancing from Rangi to Leopold and back again.

"Doesn't matter." Grinned Rangi happily, "I'm going to win."

Rangi and Oswin turned back towards where they had made camp, James hurrying after them,

"Do you mind telling me what _that_ was all about?" Demanded James sick of being in the dark.

Rangi looked down at him still grinning stupidly, "Sorry James, that info is strictly for third years and up, we can't have the little people involved."

"But I _am_ in third year." James reminded him.

"Not 'til September."

* * *

That afternoon, a small boat brought the Potters and the Weasleys to the Quidditch Stadium beside the island where they were camping. From the shores it hadn't looked so big but as they drew nearer, the stadium loomed impressively above. Their seats were high in the stands which held more witches and wizards than James had ever seen in one place before.

Rangi and Oswin were seated directly behind James with a huge group of Irish supporters. Both of them, James could see, had painted their faces with the Irish colours for the occasion and were waving flags.

A roaring voice swept across the pitch, "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the final of the Quidditch World Cup Twenty Eighteen! Japan versus Ireland!"

The crowd went wild! The noise filled James's eardrums and echoed around his head. He cheered and clapped with the other supporters but his voice was lost in the wave of sound.

"Here – stick this in your ear, the rest of the commentary will be in Filipino but this earpiece will translate everything you hear automatically." Rangi informed James leaning forward and holding out a small, blue, earplug-like object.

"For those of you who aren't fluent in Filipino." He said passing more earpieces up and down the row.

"You're fluent in Filipino?" James asked feeling quite surprised.

"Huh? Oh… no." Rangi replied in a lower tone so only James could hear, "I only know some basic everyday phrases… I just like to pretend I am."

James stuck the little blue thing into his ear just in time to catch the end of a funny comment from the cheerful commentator and something about the Cup being an honour to host. James joined in the cheering yet again.

Rangi leant forward in his chair again whispering over James's shoulder, "See the Top Box up there." Rangi hissed pointing up to their right.

James couldn't really see it but he nodded anyway.

"That's where the Ministry Representatives will be; the Filipino, the Irish and the Japanese as well as some of the most important guests – and, of course, the commentator."

"This is your commentator Arturo Magsaysay. Now, let's give a cheer for the Irish mascots!" Roared the commentator.

From all sides of the top of the arena tiny green things began to rain down. James saw as they flew down in front of him that they were actually little Leprechauns diving down from the stands above. He laughed and clapped and cheered along with the Irish side as the Leprechauns descended and then swarmed across the pitch above the water into the center. As all the Leprechauns met in the center, those in the middle rose and gold began to burst as if from a fountain, rising into the air, fanning out and then descending, toppling into the blue sea where the coins glittered and shone on the shallow ocean floor.

James and the Irish supporters all stood up, cheering and yelling as the Leprechauns finished their display and then suddenly, there were movements coming from the depths of the sea below and James just managed to hear the commentator saying, "And here come the Japanese National Mascots!" before the creatures burst from the water, scattering the Leprechaun gold and the Japanese supporters began to roar.

"What are they?" James asked Rangi frowning at the mottled green, scaled creatures now performing some sort of synchronized swimming routine in the pool below.

"Kappa." Rangi whispered from behind, "They're water demons but they're highly intelligent, I'm surprised they have such a large cooperative group."

James watched as the water demons below flipped and twisted magnificently and then another burst from the depths bearing a huge Japanese flag with a red dragon, it's claw clutching a Quaffle, which burst into life, roaring and growling realistically.

Despite having decided to cheer for Ireland James couldn't help clapping and cheering with everyone else as the Kappa settled at the side of the pitch opposite the seething Leprechauns.

"And without further ado, let's give a cheer for the Irish National Quidditch team!" Yelled the commentator to tumulous applause from the green-clad half of the spectators, James, Rangi and the rest of their rows included.

"I give you; Boyce, Wood, Church, Nolan, Pai, O'Sullivan and Captain of the Irish Team since 2013 - Peter Cohen." Yelled the commentator as seven green blurs shot onto the pitch from an entrance far below, soaring in a wide arc around the pitch and then positioning themselves in their positions, James could see Rangi's mom at the Irish golden hoops at the far end of the pitch and was sure he saw he glance their way and give a quick thumbs up.

Rangi leaned forward again saying, "The captain, Peter Cohen – best Chaser the Irish side has seen in decades!"

James was already nodding, he had already heard all about Peter Cohen, the famous Irish captain who had been on the team for almost seventeen years and who had played in three previous World Cups,

"He's been on the team since he was eighteen. Practically walked out of Hogwarts and onto the Quidditch pitch." Rangi continued in an awe-filled voice, "They credit him with giving the Quidditch team new life as captain – oh and also," Rangi added as if it was barely an after-thought, "He's my godfather."

James turned around instantly in his chair to see his friend properly,

"You're kidding."

Rangi grinned smugly and shook his head,

"Now eyes on the game, Potter! I want you soaking in some new tactics here, it's not all just fun and games you know."

"And now," Continued the commentator, "The Japanese side – Sato, Matsumoto, Nakagawa, Ikeda, Genda, Taketatsu and their Captain – Hayato Korogi!"

This time the Japanese team burst out in their robes of red and white zooming around the pitch only-

"Their brooms are on fire!" Exclaimed Rose standing up and pointing a few seats down from James.

James gawped at the players as they sped past, the tails of their broomsticks burning fiercely.

"Don't worry," Uncle George told Rose, "It's an enchanted fire, more of a decoration than anything else."

"The Japanese had a tradition of setting their brooms alight in case of defeat." Rangi explained knowledgably, "Nowadays they use magic fires for effect, it doesn't damage the brooms at all."

James almost pointed out that the players being damaged was more of a concern than the broomsticks but then he remembered who he was talking to and bit his tongue, knowing it would be pointless.

The Japanese team had now taken up their positions on their half of the pitch and a referee from New Zealand had began hovering around a few feet above the water. Huge letters and numbers had appeared in the sky above proclaiming, "IRELAND: NIL, JAPAN: NIL" and the commentators voice was ringing across the stadium again,

"The balls are released – and let the GAME BEGIN!"

Instantly the players were shooting across the pitch with astonishing speed and power, James found it hard to keep up with and clung to the commentators every word. Over the past year he had grown accustom to playing in Quidditch matches but it had been a long time since he had watched an international one live, especially on a scale like this.

Within the first ten minutes, Japan had scored but Irish quickly leveled the score. Rangi gave a low whistle,

"_This_ is going to be one close game." He said leaning forward and rubbing his hands together.

"But you bet all that money on what would happen." James frowned not even glancing back at him, eyes glued to the game.

"Oh, well, I know I'm gonna win the money but it wouldn't be as much fun if there wasn't the risk that if I don't win I'm _screwed_!"

James wasn't sure he knew what Rangi meant but then again, Rangi was always coming out with stuff like that. Anyway, his mind was on other things as a loud, PING signaled another goal for Japan.

* * *

**Please review! Let me know what you think of Leopold and Julius!**


	4. The Final Victors

**Finally, the result of the match! Sorry for the cliffhangers! Hope you Enjoy! Reviews are love.**

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**Chapter 4**

**The Final Victors**

The wind blew Albus's glasses askew as two players sped right by them. He glanced up at the score that was written across the sky above, "IRELAND: NINETY, JAPAN: ONE HUNDRED" and looked back at the players just in time to see Áine Pai make another spectacular save. Their row jumped to their feet screaming and cheering.

So far this was the fastest paced match Albus had seen. He had already seen Ireland play and knew how good they were but he hadn't seen a single Japanese match before. The teams were very equally matched; every time Japan had scored, Ireland had leveled the score again.

Albus watched the three Irish chasers, now in possession, wind their way up the pitch in what Rangi informed them was known as the 'Three Leaf Formation', this was an Irish special move; a three pronged attack with the captain, Peter Cohen, in the center and Wood and O'Sullivan on either side, swooping over and under Cohen, passing the Quaffle in elaborate patterns so as to dodge Japan's tackles. They had been using it a lot during the match to score against the Japanese Keeper who was very talented but often couldn't tell which goal they were aiming for this way. Albus had already learned a lot just from watching the match.

Far below them the dark sea swirled higher and lower in the stadium floor as the tide rose and fell with the waves outside. The referee flew low only blowing his whistle when he had to and the reflections of the players above rippled across the surface of the water in a blur of movement and colour.

Albus watched fixatedly as Ireland made their way up the pitch once more, then as they reached the goal the Japanese Keeper shot left just as O'Sullivan passed to Wood and the Quaffle soared through the right hoop. Albus could see the agitation on the Keeper's face.

"IRELAND SCORE!" Yelled the commentator as all the Potters, Weasleys and Pais jumped to their feet to cheer. Albus could hear Sora Wood, somewhere behind him shouting, "Go Mom!" with all her might.

The match was already going on longer than most but so far there had been no sightings of the snitch, this, however, only made anticipation even higher. Meanwhile more goals had been scored so far than in any other match Albus had seen.

It was only about five minutes after the Irish goal that disaster struck. Peter Cohen was barreling his way past two opposition Chasers when a Bludger flew at him hit by one of Japan's Beaters. It caught him by surprise, hitting his left temple and knocking him off his broom. He fell looking dazed, as the crowd gave a shared gasp of horror, plunging into the water below, where a last of the Leprechaun gold was slowly disappearing.

Albus leaned over the barrier as Healers pulled him onto a floating stretcher. Rangi groaned but then, all of a sudden, their attention was pulled back to the game as Japan scored.

The next hour was painful as Japan scored over and over again while Ireland struggled to get past the opposing Chasers and Beaters now that they were outnumbered. They were suffering greatly from the loss of their captain and best Chaser. Without him, O'Sullivan and Wood were fighting fruitlessly, they couldn't pass without interception and they couldn't fly very far without being tackled. Try as she might Áine Pai couldn't defend the hoops from the onslaught of Japanese shots. It wasn't long before the score was two hundred and fifty to one hundred.

"This isn't going to plan, is it, Rangi?" Albus heard James asking.

Albus had heard about Rangi making a bet on the match but it sounded like he wasn't going to win it and Philip had said he doubted Rangi even had the money to pay it off so if he didn't win, there'd be trouble. Rangi however seemed fairly relaxed,

"You don't know what a match might bring."

"I thought you said, you _did_ know what would happen." Accused James.

"The match isn't over yet James – watch the game, you should be learning from this." Rangi told him.

Albus yawned, the match was taking ages and there still hadn't been a sighting of the snitch. Then there was a loud cheer as Japan scored again and beside him Philip groaned and hid his face in his hands.

Then, without warning the Japanese Seeker, Genda, was speeding towards the Irish goal, Boyce of Ireland hot on her tail.

"What's this?" Exclaimed the commentator, "It looks like Genda has spotted the snitch."

Albus squinted desperately through his glasses at the point Genda seemed to be aiming for but it couldn't see a thing.

"There it is!" Shouted James pointing and practically jumping with excitement.

"Even if Ireland catch it they won't have enough points to win." Frowned Philip, leaning over the barrier earnestly.

Then right before Genda reached her goal, Boyce trying desperately to catch up, Áine Pai darted in front of her and Genda, trying to avoid her, spun off course and lost sight of her target.

"Woohoo!" Yelled Philip jumping up and down next to Albus as he sighed in relief.

"And that is one." Said Rangi smartly.

"One what?" Asked Rose staring at him.

"You'll see…" He smiled.

The success of distracting the Japanese Seeker gave the Irish team a boost. Finally Wood and O'Sullivan managed to get past the Japanese defenses and put not one, not two - but three goals through the hoop.

Now the score was one hundred and thirty to two hundred and sixty. Japan was still well ahead in points but Ireland was growing more confident, while Japan was starting to worry. They had lost their advantage. If Ireland caught the snitch now, they would win.

The fear was evident in the game play. While Japan seemed desperate to get another twenty points against Ireland they were making rushed decisions and small mistakes, meanwhile the Irish were concentrating on defending and hoping for a hasty snitch-catch.

Then, for a second time, both Seekers were speeding towards a point in the center of the pitch, coming at it from the Irish side where Genda had been marking Boyce heavily. Now the Japanese were worried, the two Beaters sent both Bludgers hurtling towards Boyce who dodged the first but the second caught him in the shoulder and he was knocked into Genda. Genda regained balance as Boyce steadied himself clutching his shoulder but in that moment, the snitch had darted off and been lost again.

"Two." Grinned Rangi though the rest of the Irish supporters groaned loudly.

However, the supporters didn't have long to wait for was more excitement. There had been a lapse in the amount of goals scored when the snitch had been the focus of the game but now, the Japanese Chasers were battling their way through the Irish defenses and going for goal.

"And it's Matsumoto going for goal, he dodges a tackle from O'Sullivan, ducks a Bludger from Church, he aims and-"

A gasp spread around the stadium followed by a deafening silence broken only by the commentator, Arturo Magsaysay's, magnified voice,

"I don't believe it! It looks like the snitch has been spotted again!"

Matsumoto hesitated slightly as the two Seekers spiraled past him, shooting into the air like rockets but Boyce was in the lead and he knew what he had to do – he shot for Áine's left catching her by surprise as she guarded the center where he'd been aiming seconds before.

"AND MATSUMOTO SCORES!"

Ireland was in possession now but it wasn't long before Japan was swarming from all sides. Albus realized with a start that if Japan scored again the match would be a draw even if Boyce caught the snitch.

Albus glanced at the writing in the now dark sky, which proclaimed, 'IRELAND: ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY, JAPAN: TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY' to double-check his sums.

_"Yep,"_ He thought to himself, _"If Ireland catch it they'll have two hundred and eighty but if Japan score first-"_

Japan got the Quaffle and took a shot – Áine Pai barely managed to kick it of course but it was an amazing save. By now, everyone in the stadium was holding their breath and Albus's entire row was leaning over the barrier as they watched the two Seekers race across the night sky after the speeding snitch.

They were just passing the zero at the end of Ireland's one hundred and thirty when Boyce, who was slightly ahead of Genda, stretched out his hand desperately, Albus could see his injured arm shaking as it took his full weight – then, as his fingers slid around the golden ball there was a '_PING!'_ from below as the Quaffle hit the edge of the Irish center ring and went through but the whistle had already sounded.

The crowd waited with baited breath and even Arturo Magsaysay was silent. Everyone watched the referee as he flew up to the top box.

"HE'S RULED AGAINST IT, THE MATCH WAS ALREADY OVER – IRELAND WIN!"

A deafening cheer rang out as the Irish players punched the air and sped towards Boyce, grinning wildly. They flew a victory lap and Albus, Philip and Rose cheered and yelled as they sped past, Rose even hugging Albus and Philip tightly in excitement.

At the Top Box the team was presented with the Cup, Albus couldn't see the top box from his seat but the team sped around the pitch once again holding the Cup and was even joined by Cohen who looked close to tears.

* * *

The victory party lasted all through the night and well into the morning. The Potters and Weasleys were all welcomed to a hired yacht where the Irish Quidditch team, with the exception of Áine, was staying.

They all jumped at the opportunity and half an hour after the match had ended James found himself standing on the deck of a yacht between Rangi and Oswin, face-to-face with Peter Cohen.

James was dumbstruck, he didn't know what to say, Oswin muttered,

"It's a pleasure to meet you again Mr. Cohen," but mostly to his shoes.

Peter Cohen laughed, "Please, call me Peter! Hey, I remember you! We met at the last Quidditch World Cup! It's good to see you again!"

Oswin turned a bright shade of pink and seemed unable to say anything more.

Peter Cohen was a big burly man, he even made Rangi look small next to him but he was cheerful and friendly and he quickly grabbed Rangi in a headlock and ruffled his hair.

"How's my favourite godson? Get into any more trouble recently."

"I'm your only godson." Rangi pointed out struggling to escape his grasp but soon giving up and grinning stupidly at James from Peter's iron hold.

Peter let out another loud laugh, "True."

"I like the yacht." Rangi said as Peter released him.

"Thanks. Didn't come cheap though, even to rent, so don't you go messing anything up, okay?"

Rangi smiled, "I'll try." He said noncommittally.

"Who's this then? I know Oswin already." Asked Peter motioning towards James as Oswin turned even redder than before.

"This is James!" Enthused Rangi grinning at James whose tongue still seemed to be stuck to the roof of his mouth, "He plays Seeker on my school team! I've been training him hard all year!"

"James Potter I presume? Harry Potter's son." Mused Peter and James just about managed to nod.

"I see, yes, I've heard all about you." Continued Peter as James gaped at him; he was shocked enough that Peter Cohen was talking to him, let alone that he knew who he was!

Peter laughed at his stunned face, "Nothing bad I swear. I used to play on Gryffindor team myself; I like to keep up to date on how the team's doing! I'm a good friend of one of your teachers, Professor Liberius, he's told me you're quite talented."

James turned as red as Oswin now and stared at his shoes.

"How's the injury?" Asked Rangi.

"Absolutely fine, I passed out for a couple of hours but I would have been back on that pitch by the end of the match if it weren't for the Healers insisting on bed rest." Peter smiled, "I mean I was just a little dizzy and unbalanced, I could've managed."

"Right…" Rangi agreed but without conviction.

"Don't look at me like that!" Laughed Peter, "I'm fine, okay? What's wrong? Were you worried or something?"

"Of course I was worried!." Rangi exclaimed.

"No you weren't, you had the Quidditch World Cup Final in front of you; you had better things to be thinking about than me!"

Rangi pulled a face, "Well I was still worried when you fell and it was still, y'know, at the back of my mind throughout the game. _You_ make me sound so heartless."

Peter kept laughing, "Come on Rangi, you know it'll take more than that to keep me off the Quidditch pitch!"

Before Peter turned to leave, James finally blurted,

"Can I have your autograph?"

Peter smiled and took the poster James had been clinging to for the whole conversation and a quill from his pocket as James blushed furiously.

"There you go kid. Enjoy the party and keep up the Flying, one day it could be you out there!" Peter smiled motioning to the dark outline of the stadium as he handed back the poster.

Once Peter had left Rangi burst out laughing at James's face which was still bright red. James shoved him lightly but he didn't stop so he sighed and examined his poster now with both Áine Pai and Peter Cohens' signatures scribbled across it.

Throughout the rest of the party Rangi helped James get each players signature and then at around two in the morning his father, Harry, found him and sent him back to camp to go to bed. Disappointed but overjoyed at the same time James headed back to the tent with his yawning siblings and cousins.

He climbed into his bunk bed and fell asleep almost instantly. But he didn't sleep for long-


	5. The Firework Display

**Thank you so much to everybody who's favourited, subscribed or reviewed so far! I really appreciate it! Hope you enjoy this new chapter!**

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**Chapter 5**

**The Firework Display**

"James! James wake up!"

Someone was poking James very hard in the arm, it felt like he had only gone to sleep moments ago.

"James, get up. You're going to want to see this."

When James opened his eyes he realised that he had only fallen asleep moments ago. Rangi was peering at him through the gloom, his head at level with James bunk bed, below him Lily was crawling back into bed.

"Wh-what's going on?" He muttered sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Come outside, I need to show you something." Enthused Rangi.

"Rangi! It's three in the morning!"

"Yeah, what's your point? Now get out here or you'll miss a wonderful opportunity to get revenge." Rangi informed him making his way towards the exit.

With a feeling of great curiousity and a little annoyance, James swung his legs over the side of the bed and let himself drop,

"How did you even get in here?" He asked as he pulled on a hoody over his pyjamas.

"I rang the doorbell and your sister let me in." He replied, "Thanks Lily!"

"Any time..." Lily muttered from the bottom bunk where she was already lying with her eyes closed.

There was something about Rangi's answer that didn't quite fit-

"But Rangi, we don't _have_ a doorbell!"

"Do now."

James followed Rangi out of tent into the dark night, James glanced back and was astonished to see a little silver bell above the entrance to the tent with a little rope hanging from it.

"Rangi! How did you do that?" James asked staring at him.

"Transfigured it out of a sea shell." Rangi's dark outline shrugged at James from a couple of steps ahead.

"But Rangi," Continued James hurrying to catch up with his older friend, "I don't mean to be rude but- you're _bad_ at transfiguration."

"Nonsense James," Rangi laughed grinning down at James through the gloom, "I'm bad at doing what teachers tell me to do."

James smiled then something else struck him, "But you're not allowed to do magic during the summer." Frowned James, "You're not seventeen yet."

"James, James, James... The Trace can only be detected where magic has been done around you, not who performed the magic. Here we are, in a camp full of wizards, any of whom could have performed that spell."

James had never heard this before but then again, no adult was likely to tell him. He guessed it seemed fairly obvious now - how would authorities separate the underage magic, qualified wizard magic and accidental magic performed by small children in an environment full of all three?

"Anyway, I'm sure the Ministry of Magic has _far_ more important things to be dealing with than a bit of underage magic at the Quidditch World Cup in a faraway country." Smiled Rangi, "We're nearly here. Stay quiet."

James glanced at him tentatively in the dark, they were now approaching someone else's tent and around it stood three other figures all taller than himself. He soon recognized Molly from her bushy ponytail,

"This better be good." She muttered in a low voice to Rangi.

"Don't worry, it will be." Rangi smiled, "Freddy, go find somewhere we can hide later, make it somewhere no one will be likely to be walking but with a good view of the tent."

"Yes sir!" Replied a second figure, James now knew to be his cousin Fred.

"Molly you're on lookout. James, Os, come here with me."

James and the third figure, Oswin no doubt, followed Rangi to the back of the tent and Rangi crouched low over the tent pegs at one side where a box stood open where it seemed Rangi had left it before getting James.

"Here, hold this." Rangi told Oswin, passing him some long cylinders.

"What are they?" Frowned Oswin squinting through the dark, "Weasleys'... Wildfire... Whiz-bangs... FIREWORKS?"

Oswin, looking alarmed, shoved the rockets into James arms and backed off.

"Cool!" Enthused James.

"Shh..." Hissed Rangi moving onto the next tent peg and taking three fireworks from James.

James was silent while Rangi worked. It didn't take long before he had tied a few fireworks to each corner of the tent. Fred returned whispering that he'd found them somewhere to hide.

"Okay, ready. Molly, if you'll do the honours?" Rangi bowed standing back from the tent as Molly lit a match which illuminated her face in the dark.

Then, as Molly set alight each firework in quick succession, Rangi, Oswin and James legged it. Following Fred towards the sea where some steep slippy rocks rose above the sand. Molly was soon right behind them and as they settled behind a large jagged rock, with the waves lapping behind them - the first firework went off.

_"PEW-PEW-BOOM!" _Roared the fireworks showering bright sparks and colours everywhere as more and more exploded.

James knew the people in the tent would be fine as these fireworks, developed by his uncle George, were non-heat and relatively harmless, even still, the display was terrifying and magnificent.

"Whose tent is that anyway?" James asked suddenly but nobody had to answer as at that moment, Professor Flint, Lysander Flint and his friend fled from inside.

James had to stuff his hand in his mouth to stop from laughing and giving away their hiding place. The teacher looked furious and his son and the other Slytherin boy looked shocked and alarmed as the final, largest firework shot into the air with the tent still attached to it and burst into hundreds of smaller explosions of red and yellow and pink.

Then, with a dull thud, the tent landed back on the ground at the Flying teachers feet as the fireworks continued to explode above.

"_That's_ for banning me from that match last year Flint." James heard Rangi mutter happily.

They had to make their way back to the Potter and Weasleys' tents along the beach, as cutting through the camp would mean walking straight past the Flints. They laughed and joked as they walked across the sand feeling satisfied and entertained from their own malevolent escapade. Even Molly was cheerful and Fred entertained them all by doing impressions of Flint and his son the whole way back to the tent. When they reached it however, they noticed a problem.

The lights in the tents were on and Harry, Ron and Ginny were waiting in front of the tents.

"Uh-oh..." Whispered James.

"You two, go!" Molly said to Rangi and Oswin as they all stood there dumbstruck, "Get back to the party before your Mom leaves, Rangi! Go! Now!"

Glancing back at them quickly, Rangi and Oswin hurried towards the Irish teams' boat before the adults spotted Molly, Fred and James standing there. Slowly they advanced into the light of the tents and at once, James's parents were upon him,

"Just _what_ do you think you are doing?" Snapped his mother, "Attaching fireworks to your teacher's tent!"

James didn't say anything.

"Do you really think that's a good way to start your third year James?" Demanded his father looking angrier than James had seen him since the telling-off he'd received at age seven when he'd replacing the sugar with salt at his Uncle Percy's fancy dinner party.

"I thought you might have learned something from spending half the summer grounded but it seems we were wasting our time." Said Harry frowning sternly.

"I hope you know how serious this is?" Ginny glared fiercely.

"It's not like the fireworks were dangerous or anything-" James protested.

"James Sirius Potter! You can't just cause expect to get away with anything that's not dangerous!" His mother interrupted furiously, "What if something had gone wrong?"

"I want you to go and apologize to Professor Flint first thing in the morning!" Harry told him.

James gaped at him, "But he doesn't know it was us!"

"Then you had better to the honest thing and turn yourself in - and tell him you'll pay for any damages done to his tent." Ginny scolded.

"Hey! It wasn't even my idea-"

"That's enough! Now go to bed!" Ginny snapped pointing at the tent behind her.

James sighed and made his way inside, now he was in trouble. How was he meant to go and hand himself in to Flint knowing that he was likely to get a Quidditch ban or something as soon as he returned to school? Teachers weren't meant to punish you for things that happened outside of school terms but James was sure Flint would find a way.

It was with these unhappy thoughts and the distant sound of Ron, Harry and Ginny still telling off Molly and Fred that James fell into an uneasy sleep.


	6. The Train Ride

**Chapter 6**

**The Train Ride**

The smoke billowed, furling and unfurling around James Potter as he pushed his trolley purposefully towards the red steam engine in front of him. He yawned and then coughed as his mouth filled with the fumes. The platform was hot and crowded and all around him school children were hugging their parents and loading their trunks onto the Hogwarts Express, ready to return to school.

James had returned to London with his parents the morning after the Quidditch Cup final but had managed to avoid the embarrassment of apologizing to Flint because he had returned to the Professor's tent the next morning only to find a bare stretch of land and to be informed by a neighbor that the Flints had packed up and taken an earlier Portkey.

After that there hadn't been much his parents could do except ground him until Hogwarts commenced. He'd already been forbidden to visit Hogsmeade, the local village, when he got in trouble at the end of last year and had a bucketful of detentions awaiting him.

He was glad the long and dreary summer was over, after the Quidditch World Cup there hadn't been much to do. It wasn't that he looked forward to his classes, rarely did James look forward to such mundane things, but he looked forward to being with his friends again, playing Quidditch _and_ he had a certain great curiosity to fulfill.

He loaded his trunk onto the train and turned to find Sora Wood standing behind him, she held out a small black contraption.

"Hey James." Sora said, "A boy over there asked me to give this to you."

James took the small plastic item and looked at it with confusion.

"Well, see-ya!"

"Bye Sora, I'll see you at the Sorting." James muttered waving vaguely as he peered at the – whatever it was.

Suddenly, the thing began to speak, or more, suddenly his friend Alex's voice issued from the device, James held it up to his ear.

"Come in agent Bond. Do you read me?"

_Did he what?_ He stared at the plastic box for a moment then pressed a button curiously. It made a weird buzzing sound then cut off again when he lifted his finger. He tried it again this time speaking into the box hesitantly,

"…Hello? Alex?"

"This is the Alexgator, do you copy?"

"Alex! What in the name of Merlin is this?" He exclaimed exasperatedly.

"This, agent Bond, is a walkie-talkie and it is vital for our next mission. You must use code names to stay under cover – I am the Alexgator and you are agent Bond."

"Why agent _Bond_?" James asked trying to work out his friends crazy thought patterns.

"Its this Muggle super agent guy – his name's James Bond." Alex explained and sighed, "I've had a lot of free time." He added.

"Right… What's Blue's name?"

"This is agent Indigo reporting. Have you located Bond?" Came in a second voice over the _'walkie-talkie'_, James instantly recognizing it as Blue's.

"You're going along with this?" James asked incredulously.

"Well, I know the names are kind of stupid, James but the walkie-talkies are actually really handy." Explained Blue.

"_Hey!_ The names are not stupid!" Whined Alex through the walkie-talkie.

"Back to the mission." Said Blue swiftly changing the topic, "I have located Hothead and friends."

"Excellent work Indigo!" Replied Alex happily, "Keep an eye on them while I brief agent Bond."

James sighed but decided to hear the plan, despite Alex's eccentricities and the fact that he'd spent the majority of his summer confined to his house there was still nothing James liked more than a good old prank to get back into the swing of things,

"What's the plan… eh Alexgator?"

"Hey, your voice's different." Laughed Alex.

"Well so has yours!" James snapped frustrated, he was not in the mood for idle chitchat.

"Has it?" Alex asked and James could here the confusion in his voice, "You know, you can never notice these things yourself-"

"The _plan_ Alex!" James interrupted his patience wearing thin rapidly.

"Oh right, well… the plan is…"

* * *

Albus hugged his parents and his little sister and jumped onboard the rapidly-filling Hogwarts Express followed by Will who had said goodbye to his parents before coming to the station and had come with the Potters. He had let Harry and Ginny hug him goodbye and wish him luck and more or less behaved the whole time he had been staying with them but now, alone with Albus, he quickly reverted to his old self.

"Want to find a compartment?" Albus asked politely.

"Huh! I wouldn't sit with you if you paid me!" Snarled Will and disappeared up the train as it pulled out of the station.

"_Fine!"_ Thought Albus, he didn't like Will, he'd only been putting up with him for his parents' sake. If Will wanted to travel to Hogwarts alone, so be it.

He heard his friend Philip calling his name and turned to spot him coming up the train corridor waving.

"Let's get a compartment quick, they're nearly all gone. Where's Rose?" He suggested looking around for Albus's cousin.

Albus had been wondering the exact same thing. He hadn't been able to find Rose on the platform earlier and he couldn't see her now either. He shrugged and for a while himself and Philip peered into compartments curiously hoping to catch sight of her somewhere. Finally they reached a compartment door and Albus saw her unmistakable auburn hair through the mottled screen door.

"There she is." He announced pulling the door open.

Inside a group of girls from Albus's year were chatting and giggling uncontrollably, Rose turned and saw them.

"There you are Rose! Do you want to find a compartment with us?" Albus asked glancing nervously around.

He spotted Amanda another friend of his and she smiled at him.

"Uh… actually Al, I'm fine here. You guys go find one. I'll see you at the feast."

Albus was surprised but slid the door shut again glancing at Philip who shrugged,

"Guess we better find somewhere to sit then."

By now all the compartments were close to full, Albus and Philip made their way to the very end of the train where one compartment sat only one girl. She was also in Albus's year and he knocked on the side of the open doorframe. The girl turned to look from where she was sitting staring out the window,

"Hey, Artemis? Can we sit here?" Albus asked nervously.

The girl nodded but didn't say anything. Albus and Philip sat down nervously opposite Artemis who stared out the window once more.

"So, looking forward to the feast Al?" Asked Philip, "It will be interesting to watch the Sorting without, you know, the worry of getting sorted yourself, right?"

Albus knew at once, Philip had said the wrong thing. Last year Artemis had been sorted into Gryffindor breaking the long tradition of Slytherins in her family and ever since she'd been bullied and teased by her twin sister, Athena.

"Well at least you got what you wanted!" She spat at him and he went quiet.

Albus looked at his hands in his lap nervously.

"The only way I'd be looking forward to the Sorting is if they could re-sort me." She added.

"I don't know why you'd rather be in Slytherin anyway!" Philip shot back, Albus looked at him in surprise, it wasn't like Philip to be so brash. Artemis was taken aback too,

"It's not honourable to break a tradition." She replied stiffly.

"I think it's good. It shows you're different from the others – special."

"Special?" She scoffed, "Who wants to be special?"

"Hundreds of people." Philip replied, "People are always trying to be new, unique, original."

"I don't want that. I never wanted attention drawn to me." Artemis replied sadly.

"How was summer with Athena?" Albus grimaced.

"Not fun." Artemis admitted.

Inspiration struck Albus and soon he was telling Philip and Artemis all about Will and his antics over the summer and by the end of it he had actually made Artemis laugh.

"Sounds like the two of them would get on like a house on fire." Artemis grinned.

"So, you reckon Will's going to be joining the Slytherin house?" Philip asked.

"No doubt about it." Albus nodded but Artemis frowned,

"You say he's Muggle-born? Then he won't get in." She informed them, "Salazar Slytherin only wanted to teach pureblood wizards, I don't think the Sorting Hat can place Muggle-borns in his house."

"But there aren't enough purebloods left." Philip argued, "If that was the case there'd only be a handful of students in Slytherin, not that I'd be complaining."

"But not all Slytherins _are_ purebloods. It would be too hard to maintain the house if they were- third-generation wizards or so? Sure. Half-bloods? Maybe. But Muggle-borns would be stretching it." Artemis explained skeptically.

"Maybe Will can be the first." Suggested Albus.

After this the conversation gently progressed to the feast and school and how much more difficult second year might be. When they'd been on the train for quite a long time and the conversation began to lull, suddenly Artemis smiled at them,

"You know, you guys are all right."

* * *

At about lunchtime, there was the sound of a lot of feet thundering outside their compartment. The door flew open and James, Alex and Blue fell in completely out of breath,

"Oh good! It's you guys." Panted James.

"Hi." Alex grinned bashfully flashing his perfect smile and pushing his slightly overgrown blond fringe out of his eyes.

Albus looked at them anxiously, _why were they running? Were they in trouble already?_

"Act natural!" James commanded slamming the compartment door closed and falling into a seat opposite Albus.

"James? What's going on?" Albus asked suspiciously.

"Shh…" James insisted, "Act like we're not even here.

Philip and Albus exchanged a look.

Then their compartment door slid open – it was the witch who pushed the lunch trolley. In the distance they could hear more feet running down the train,

"Potter!" Roared a voice.

Albus glanced at his brother.

"Anything from the trolley?" Asked the witch peering around the packed compartment, "Now really!"

Tybalt Tyne, a fiery-tempered third year, with a strong dislike of James, had just arrived outside the door with two of his friends.

"I'm afraid you can't get by here, there just isn't room." The witch tried to explain as Tybalt visibly seethed with anger.

"That's our compartment." Bluffed one of Tybalt's friends.

"That compartment is already full." The witch explained, "Now please return to your seats."

But Tybalt and his friends refused to budge.

"Go back to your own compartment."

"Why don't you just reverse and we'll go into that one instead?" Demanded Tybalt.

"Enough! Sit back down right now or I'll be reporting this to your Head of House." Snapped the witch angrily, "And no more running around, you hear me? You'll remain in you compartment 'til we get to Hogsmeade if you know what's good for you!"

Glaring furiously Tybalt spun around and marched away. James was having an ill-disguised laughing fit and Alex was outright hysterical.

"Now dears, what is it you would like?" Asked the trolley lady kindly.

They all bought something and soon the compartment was full of food, mostly of the sugary variety.

"What was that all about anyway?" Albus asked biting off a chocolate frog's head.

James began laughing again and Alex grinned, "We may or may not have put a trap in Tyne's compartment which proceeded to cover Katherine Burke in flobberworm mucus."

Albus looked at Blue, the only one of the three he would consider to be remotely sensible,

"Really?"

"As Alex has already said – this may or may not be true." Blue agreed.

Albus rolled his eyes at their childishness and thought for a moment about what it would be like to have an older brother who was more mature than a five year old. At least he knew Philip understood his pain.

"Oh hello! Where's Rose? I see you have a replacement for her already." Alex observed, noticing Artemis for the first time.

"Rose is with Amanda and some of the other girls from our year." Albus explained.

"Ouch. Guess she's sick of you already." James replied examining a _'Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean' _suspiciously before popping it into his mouth.

Albus ignored his comment as he began to gag on the vomit-flavoured sweet.

"Oh well, never did like her anyway." Alex said casually, "Pleasure to meet you Artemis." He continued shooting her his most charming smile.

Artemis turned a little pink, nodded to him and then looked out the window.

"You still haven't told me where you managed to get three liters of flobberworm mucus, Alex." Blue pointed out, "It's not exactly what I thought you'd be spending your pocket money on."

"What? You think I've been farming flobberworms all summer?" Alex asked, "I got it cheap off Julius Binns! Way better than the Diagon Alley price." He informed them wisely, "And there's more where that came from, I have a bag of doxy-eggs, three garroting gas grenades and this weird mixture; I don't know what it is, but Julius assures me that if you set it alight it explodes!" He finished enthusiastically.

Albus wasn't too impressed; he wasn't very comfortable knowing someone had sold these things to a guy like Alex. James however looked like he thought this sounded great though Blue looked a little worried.

Philip quickly changed the subject by asking James if he thought Will would be in Slytherin or not and told him what Artemis had said.

"That's a good point. Mind you, he belongs there. I can see him getting along just swell with Tybalt or Lysander."

"Or Paul." Albus muttered bitterly but mostly to himself.

Last year Albus had made the mistake of befriending a Slytherin boy in his year only to discover on the last night of term that Paul was actually just spying on them for Professor Flint, the Slytherin Head of House, who seemed determined to get both himself and James thrown out of school.

Next, the six students spent the time playing a game which involved passing around the box of _'Bertie Botts',_ each taking a sweet without looking and if you gagged or spat out a sweet, you were out. Albus and Philip passed them around nervously hoping to get nice ones. It was quite entertaining. Albus got pepper, baked bean, chocolate and grass before gagging on a liver flavoured bean.

In the end, Alex won and then they played exploding snap with some cards Philip had brought. After this they were all worn out and starving,

"Can't be much longer." Blue murmured peering at his watch.

Lights had come on in the carriages of the Hogwarts Express and outside it was lightly raining.

"Why don't you three go back to your own compartment anyway?" Philip asked.

"Trying to get rid of us?" Alex asked feigning hurt.

"It's beside Tybalt Tyne's." James explained.

"Yes." Agreed Alex, "And as every good criminal knows – you never return to the scene of a crime." He nodded knowledgably.

Philip grinned and sat up eagerly, "I thought you only _'may or may not'_ have committed that crime."

"Oh. Yes." Alex said realizing his mistake.

Only a few minutes later the train slowed to a stop in Hogsmeade Station. The students poured out and hurried to the covered carriages pulled by invisible Thestrals to escape the icy rain. Albus had never travelled in one of these before as last year he'd taken the traditional journey across the lake in little wooden boats with the other first years. He thought he saw Will for a moment gathering around the groundskeeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Hagrid, with the other eleven year olds.

James, Blue, Alex, Philip and Artemis followed Albus into one of the black carriages. They were packed tightly inside with very little room but Albus didn't mind too much. It wasn't often himself and James got on and the fact they had survived the journey without fighting was a great achievement. He wouldn't be the one to wreck it.

They reached the great castle and piled out of the carriages, up the steps and through the front door into the Entrance Hall where they met Rose. Together, the seven of them continued into the Great Hall but they would have to wait 'til the Sorting Ceremony was over to start the feast!

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Mmm... anticipation for the feast is making _me_ hungry! Who thinks Will will be in Slytherin? And if he's not - where will he go instead?**

**By the way, I'm working on a cover for 'The Secret Treasure of Hogwarts' but it's not finished yet. Also, please vote on the poll on my profile - it will really help me! Finally, I know this was meant to be up yesterday and I'm sorry. I am trying to update in a regular fashion but, you know, life and stuff get in the way. Once September starts I'm going to be A LOT busier but I'm going to try and keep to the habit of updating EVERY WEEKEND. I will fail (and probably fail often) but know that I'm sorry and I'm trying and I will be back. Those of you who are subscribed will be able to see when I put up new chapters (thank you by the way!) but for those of you who aren't all I can tell you is that I'll try to update each weekend! Thank you!**

**ASG**


	7. The Sorting Hat's Surprises

**This chapter is dedicated to LilDevyl, my amazing beta-reader! It is thanks to her that you are no longer plagued by grammatical nonsense and silly typos! Thank you so much LilDevyl for being such an amazing beta-reader for this story and my mentor and guide since I joined fanfiction almost two years ago.**

**Your friend,**

**Animagus Sugar Glider**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**The Sorting Hat's Surprises**

James, Alex and Blue tumbled into their seats at the Gryffindor table opposite Albus and Philip, who were now joined by Rose and abandoned by the other girl.

"Where's 'Tetia?" Alex asked peering around the Great Hall as if expecting their friend Letitia to burst through a wall at any moment, as they had grown accustomed to over the past year.

James looked around too. Letitia had spent the first half of the summer with James in London but instead of joining them at the Burrow she had decided to revisit her old home. James and his parents had agreed that this was probably for the best, mostly because it might alarm Will to be staying with a ghost so soon after discovering that he could perform magic.

James had gone with Letitia to her old house, the alleged haunted house on the corner of an old street in London. The house was boarded up, it hadn't been occupied for decades and Letitia had abandoned it for an adventure at Hogwarts a year ago. Saying his goodbyes here and promising to meet her again back at Hogwarts, James had proceeded to visit his father's godson, Teddy Lupin, where he was studying to become a Healer. James had always viewed Teddy almost as an older brother. As an orphan, Teddy had grown up with his grandmother but was a frequent visiter to the Potter's during the weekends and holidays. Teddy had always been a lot more sensible than James and he had a _'don't want to know attitude'_ to James's pranks and troublemaking. Even still, Teddy and James always got along exceptionally well despite their differences in character.

Letitia had died before getting a chance to attend Hogwarts but after a year of debate with the Ghost Council, she had been given the status of student at Hogwarts by the Headmistress, Professor McGonagall and this year she would be commencing her magical education along with the other first years despite her... condition.

However, James, Alex and Blue had failed to find her on the Hogwarts Express. Eventually they had to go ahead with their plan to prank Tybalt Tyne and the other Slytherins without her. James began to worry a little as he considered the possibility that perhaps she hadn't been able to get on the Hogwarts Express without being noticed by Muggles.

James spotted Sir Nicholas, better known as Nearly Headless Nick, floating through a wall and waved to him. Nearly Headless Nick made his way over, silvery white and floating several feet off the ground but turning no heads as he went. The students of Hogwarts were well adjusted to seeing ghosts flying around.

"Good evening James Potter. I'm afraid myself and the other ghosts are just after giving the new first years quite a fright. Though having your friend Miss Darling with them seems to have softened the shock."

"You've seen Leetitia?" James asked at once as Nick settled himself next to him.

"Oh yes. She looks very excited to finally be starting school." He smiled fondly.

James was relieved, now that he knew Letitia was okay he was perfectly relaxed again.

"What's happening with her Sorting, Sir Nick?" Blue asked politely.

"Ah yes! A very interesting matter. Professor McGonagall has oragnised it so that, as the Sorting Hat cannot be placed on Letitia's head in the usual fashion, she is instead to have a long interview with him before the rest of the students are sorted. She is, of course, to be completely honest and answer any question the Hat puts to her." Nick informed them importantly, "I believe that's where she is at the moment."

"Cool!" Enthused Alex.

"Indeed." Agreed Nick, "I myself, have little doubt that she'll be joining us here at any moment."

James silently agreed. He knew Letitia well after their adventures together last year and definitely thought she belonged in Gryffindor.

They chatted with Sir Nicholas for a few minutes longer, discussing the holidays and then, as expected, Letitia burst through a wall and flew over barely containing her excitement.

"I'm in Gryffindor!" She squealed as the boys cheered, "The Sorting Hat asked me all kinds of questions. He did consider Hufflepuff for a while but in the end he picked Gryffindor. Thank you so much Sir Nicholas for all your help last year! And thank you James, Alex and Blue! I never would have been allowed stay if it weren't for all of you!"

"My pleasure." Replied Nick as the three others nodded happily.

They made room for her at the table and she joined them.

"Where were you on the train?" Asked Alex curiously.

"Oh! It was so much fun!" Letitia smiled, "I met some other new first years! I thought they'd be scared but they were fine - after a minute or two. Anyway, I decided to travel with them. I hope you didn't mind."

James shook his head. He was just glad that Letitia had enjoyed herself. She had dreamed of starting Hogwarts for over one hundred years.

"Oh look! Here they come now!" Letitia said pointing towards the great big door connecting the Entrance Hall to the Great Hall.

The small and tentative first years were following Professor Longbottom, the Herbology teacher, into the hall. They were all soaking wet from the rain outside and some of them were shivering. James was sure he couldn't have looked _that_ small when he was starting school.

"Oh," Letitia mused, "They do look wet. You know, I think I've forgotten what _'wet'_ feels like."

"It gets that way..." Nick said sadly.

James couldn't see what Nick was so sad about. Personally, he wasn't too fond of getting wet.

The first years formed a line along the top table where the teachers sat. A stool with the tired old Sorting Hat on it stood in front of them. James paid little attention as the Hat sang a song and the first years were given instructions. His mind was on the feast that would soon follow. He was starving.

"Here it is, the moment of truth, where will Willard be placed?" Whispered Philip mysteriously across the table.

James glanced up and down the line spotting Will, who looked nervous, as well as Sora Wood and his cousin Dmitriy. James had never had much time for Dmitriy. He was the kind of kid who kept his nose clean and did what his parents told him to do and he was also a complete Know-It-All. He was Fred and Molly's younger brother and luckily for James it was usually Albus who got paired up with him over the holidays as they were closer in age.

James and the other Gryffindors watched as the first years made their way, alphabetically to the Hat to be Sorted. He clapped and cheered as new Gryffindors joined their table but most of the time he watched Will who was managing to look grumpy despite his nerves.

"Dursley, Willard." Called Professor Longbottom.

Will stepped forward and James glanced at his brother and his friends quickly. He could see that they were thinking the same thing as he was, except maybe Letitia who was humming quietly to herself; _'there's no way he'll go anywhere but Slytherin'_. Even still, he remembered what the girl on the train had said and it made him curious. _'Was Willard about to become the first ever Muggle-born Slytherin?'_

Will sat on the stool and gave the scruffy Hat a slightly disgusted look as Professor Longbottom lowered it onto his head. James grinned, he bet Will never had to wear anything that wasn't brand new and unquestionably clean while at home, even just for a minute. For a long time they waited, James knew that the Sorting Hat was inevitably whispering in Will's ear as it thought but James could only guess at what it might be saying.

After two or three long minutes, the rip near the brim of the old wizards hat opened and the Hat finally shouted,

"Gryffindor!"

James mouth fell open, Philip looked startled and Albus let out an alarmed, "What?"

James had been thinking the exact same thing. Even if Will hadn't been sorted into Slytherin he couldn't understand how he'd be put in Gryffindor! James was in Gryffindor. He didn't want Will in Gryffindor. He gaped across the table at Rose who was seated directly opposite him and was glancing around at their stunned faces calmly,

"Well? What did you expect? Muggle-borns can't be Sorted into Slytherin." She said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

James couldn't believe it, he didn't understand how Muggle-borns could still be barred from Slytherin even after all these years. Rose went on to explain that Salazar Slytherin had never wanted any Muggle-borns at Hogwarts and that was why he had left. James let her prattle on but he wasn't listening. At the top of the table Will was seated with a couple of other new Gryffindors looking confused. James sighed, if he started following James around again asking for Flying lessons he had another thing coming.

James went back to impatiently waiting for the start of the feast but before the end of the Sorting there was another bombshell.

"Weasley, Dmitriy." Called Professor Longottom and Dmitriy stepped up to the stool, pushing his glasses further up his nose towards his red hair.

After less than fifteen seconds of sitting on Dmitriy's head the Sorting Hat suddenly cried out,

"Ravenclaw!"

"What did it say?" James asked suddenly paying attention. Albus and Rose also looked shocked.

James didn't know why he was so surprised. It made perfect sense that Dimitriy would belong in Ranvenclaw and yet...

"He must be the first Weasley not in Gryffindor since..." gushed Rose, "Well, since... For generations!"

"Guess all traditions have to be broken eventually." Murmured Albus glancing up the table at the girl from the train.

Sora Wood was the final first year to be sorted and she joined them at Gryffindor table looking very pleased with herself.

Then, finally, platters of food materialized along the table. James piled his plate high and began to eat ravenously. Around him the other students were doing the same and conversations burst noisily up and down the table. Philip was laughing as he told Albus and Rose a story and Blue was once again chatting with Sir Nicholas and Letitia. Alex, like James, was too busy eating to stop and chat.

After dinner, followed by rich deserts, the Headmistress, Professor McGonagall made a quick speech and sent them all to bed. Professor McGonagall was a strict old witch and though James was grateful that she'd allowed Letitia to join the school, he couldn't help remembering that she had taken away his Hogsmeade visiting rights at the end of last year, even if he had deserved it.

After quickly getting the password off Molly, who was a Prefect, James, Alex, Blue and Letitia, headed up to the Gryffindor tower ahead of the rest of the crowds. Over the past two years they had learned all the shortcuts and secret stairways and it didn't take them long to reach the common room. It was a circular room with comfortable armchairs gathered around in groups and a bright fire already burning in the grate.

James was tired after the journey and the feast and though reluctant to turn in already, classes began in the morning and he agreed to an early night. The boys bid Letitia goodnight and tramped up the spiral staircase to their dorm.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you thought of the Sorting. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed this story so far! Especially to those of you who I haven't been able to reply to by PM.**


	8. School

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 8**

**School**

"School sucks." James muttered looking down at the pile of homework he already had for that evening.

They weren't even one day into classes and James was already sick of them. He couldn't wait for the Quidditch season to start up again, he needed to have something to look forward to. Then again, if they received this amount of homework every day, he didn't know when he was going to practice.

"Don't worry, James. That Transfiguration essay's a lot easier than it sounds and all the answers to the Potions questions are in the book if you look for them." Blue reassured him.

James scowled and shoveled the books back into his schoolbag unceremoniously. It was lunch time and James, Alex, Blue and Letitia were sitting at the Gryffindor table eating sandwiches. Letitia was bouncing up and down with excited as she chattered nonstop about her new classes and teachers. She was all dressed up in the Hogwarts robes she had borrowed from fellow ghost Moaning Myrtle.

"Do you think Astronomy is hard? It looks hard." She asked looking thoughtful, "I don't know much about stars and stuff, I always just thought they looked pretty."

James looked at his timetable as Alex started to tell Letitia about Astronomy classes and gave a loud groan.

"I forgot Flying was this afternoon..." James moaned. He was not looking forward to seeing Professor Flint again after the firework incident at the Quidditch World Cup.

James had told Blue and Alex about it last night after the feast. Alex had howled with laughter but Blue had been more concerned,

"He probably guessed who was involved. It's no secret Rangi hates him and let's face it you're not exactly his favouvite student either, are you?" Blue had pointed out.

James agreed with Blue and he knew he would have to thread carefully in class today. He was also very glad that Blue had withheld from scolding him though he had looked rather disapproving. He'd had quite enough of that from his parents already.

As soon as they'd finished eating, James, Alex and Blue left the Great Hall wishing Letitia luck in the rest of her classes. It would take them until the end of lunch to collect their broomsticks from their dormitory and get down to class and they knew that if they were even one minute late, Professor Flint would have them all running laps in a heartbeat.

Even before the Quidditch World Cup, Professor Flint had loved to pick on James. James knew that his father had played Quidditch against Flint in school and was sure this was probably his reasoning. He wasn't the only one the teacher appeared to hate, last year he had called Blue a _'whiney little orphan'_ in front of their whole class.

Albus had also received a two detentions from him last year, something which James had found hilarious at the time but now just seemed to prove his point. Maybe he picked on Blue because he was friends with James or maybe he just had something against all the Gryffindors but somehow James seemed to get it worse than most.

"Why do you think Flint doesn't pick on you as much as me or Blue?" James asked turning to Alex on their way outside.

"I dunno." Shrugged Alex, "Maybe he's one of those pureblood nutters."

James pulled a face, "Oh come on, your blood's not _that_ pure."

"No." Agreed Alex, "But my name is."

"It's true." Granted Blue, "Nobody's one hundred per cent _'pureblood'_ anymore but Alex's name has its associations... the blood in the Prince male line is still considered pure."

"Come off it!" Scoffed James, "By that logic, I'm a pureblood."

"Yeah but everyone knows your mom's a Weasley and the Weasleys have been outcasts from the pureblood community for years!" Grinned Alex.

"Is your mom a pureblood then?" James asked with a note of accusation.

James didn't hold a high opinion of the _'pureblood community' _as Alex called them. They had always appeared to be self-righteous snobs to him.

"No but she's from what they call a _'respectable wizarding family'."_ Alex said mockingly, "My family doesn't go in for the whole 'pureblood-mania' thing but we haven't done anything to _'disgrace our linage'_ yet."

James could tell Alex was quoting the old-fashioned ideas without much conviction but he still wanted to play it against him.

"What about you then?" He began teasingly, "Will you only marry someone of _'respectable wizarding family'_?"

Blue laughed and Alex grinned good-humouredly,

"I don't care. I just have to carry on the name of Prince. I'm the last Prince male heir. It's a legacy. That's why I'll need a son." Alex said proudly.

"Called?" Prompted Blue.

"Alexander Prince the fifth!"

James dissolved into laughter now. He knew Alex didn't take much seriously but family trees were something wizards took pride in. The pureblood ways seemed silly and old fashioned to most now but he knew there was a time when prejudice played a huge part in the wizarding world and people were judged by their family names. Even now when those prejudices only remained at the outskirts of the wizarding community names still played a prominent role.

The wizarding world wasn't that large and certain names were still well-known for certain things. Your name told you who you were related to and who your ancestors were. James was quite proud himself of his own kooky family tree. The Weasleys had long broken free of the pureblood ideology and conventions and rebelled against society but now held a great amount of respect in the wizarding world. His own uncle was now Minister for Magic.

James and his friends were still chuckling from their ridiculous conversation when they arrived at Flint's class. James quickly cleared his face of emotion as Flint raised his eyes from the book he was making notes in and shot him a glare.

With only his friends and their nonsensical jokes, spurred on from the high spirits before class, did James manage to survive Flint's torturous class.

The next day James found himself rather excited to find that they were starting their new classes. He didn't know why he was so excited, his father had warned him that he wouldn't enjoy Divination and he had only taken it because it sounded like the easiest option. Care of Magical Creatures sounded kind of boring but at least they would get Hagrid as their teacher.

Blue was also starting the Study of Ancient Runes today which James knew he would be good at. Ancient Runes was the study of runic scriptures and languages and codes were Blue's strength. Last year he had even studied ancient Chinese wizard writings completely outside of class.

First they had Care of Magical Creatures outside in the grounds with Hagrid. He had talked about Bowtruckles and then helped them lure some out of a tree in the forest with a trail of wood lice. James had been rather relieved as he had been warned Hagrid's classes could often be dangerous and his creatures far less appealing. He had even heard his Uncle Ron tell stories about the Blast-Ended Skrewts Hagrid had cross-bred in his fourth year.

Hagrid usually had a preference for more ferocious beasts than tree guardians and James wasn't sure if he was up to that in his first class. Alex, Blue and James had chatted merrily with Hagrid who seemed in great form and who had invited them to his cabin on the school grounds where he lived after school on Friday.

It was only at the end of class that Hagrid finally alarmed his class that next week they would be studying Acromantula, giant fearsome spiders, and they would each get some hands-on experience in caring for one.

James, Alex and Blue headed back to the castle for their next classes, Alex still jittering nervously,

"If he's serious about those spiders, next week I'm going off sick." He muttered queasily.

At the end of last year, Alex and James had had a run-in with the Forbidden Forests Acromantula colony and Alex seemed less than enthusiastic at the concept of meeting them again. James was inclined to agree with him here.

Now James and Alex headed off to Divination while Blue left them to go to his Ancient Runes class. It was a long way from Hagrid's class out in the grounds to the Divination classroom at the top of the North tower. James and Alex were panting wearily by the time they reached the ladder leading through a trap door at the very top.

Groaning Alex clambered up the ladder, James following until they finally emerged in a round, low-lit classroom where many little armchairs and pouffes were sitting around circular tables lit by small lamps and a warm fire. Immediately James felt himself longing for a cool breeze and a glass of cold water.

James and Alex sank into some ugly, floral patterned armchairs at the table furthest from the fire. Here they quietly dozed while the rest of the class arrived and took their seats. Two other boys from their dormitory, Rory and Owen, joined them at their table looking hot and and flustered.

"Jeez, can somebody _please_ open a window?" Grumbled Rory.

James got up and tried the closest window but it was jammed shut. He sighed and had just returned to his seat when their teacher appeared. James had never seen her before. Not even at the start of term or end of year feasts. She was tall and skinny and wore very large glasses and glittered with all sorts of spangly jewelry.

"Welcome to Divination." She said airily, "I am your teacher Professor Trelawney and I will be informing you in the mysterious arts of fortune-telling. Divination is a delicate art form suited only to wizards and witches of purest character and open minds. Many of you will struggle while others find this form of magic comes naturally. It may surprise many of you to find that little here can be taught, unless you are willing to open your inner eye!"

_"Your inner what?"_ James was not impressed with Professor Trelawney's speech. It sounded like a load of waffle to him and yet already many of his classmates were leaning forward earnestly and hanging on Trelawney's every word.

He started doodling on a scrap of parchment as Professor Trelawney prattled endlessly about the ceaseless possibilities of Divination and about her own great-great-grandmother, Cassandra Trelawney. He was just finishing a rather impressive caricature of Professor Flint when Alex elbowed him sharply and he glanced up to find Trelawney right in front of their table. James hastily covered the parchment with his Divination book hoping she hadn't seen.

Fortunately for James, it wasn't him, Professor Trelawney was interested in, it was Alex.

"You have a very strong aura, you know." Professor Trelawney informed him.

"Eh..." Replied Alex.

"I feel you could have much success in this class. Tell me, have you ever found yourself making predictions?"

"Eh..." Alex replied again glancing at James nervously.

"What about picking up atmospheres? Your aura shows you are highly attuned to subtleties of atmospheric change." Trelawney asked, looking at him eagerly.

James watched Alex as he attempted to decipher this,

"You mean like... the weather?"

"No, no, no. We won't be reading the clouds until next year." Trelawney answered still looking hopeful, "How do you feel right now?"

"Um, hot... and-"

James could tell he was on the verge of saying hungry, Alex was always hungry.

"Ah yes!" Gasped Trelawney alarming the class with her suddenness, "That is the pressure of the atmosphere you are reading, is it not? New classes. Mystery. Anticipation! I can sense that you will be very prosperous in this class, what is your name?"

"Alex. Alex Prince." Alex said nervously glancing at James again who was trying not to laugh.

"Indeed! My crystal gazing foretold me of the arrival of a Prince who would bring great knowledge to this class..."

"Eh..." Alex said again.

"I can tell, Alex Prince, that you are a highly sensitive person. Your inner eye is in perfect condition! Next week we will start reading tea leaves and I am sure you will prove yourself highly capable."

James had to stuff his hand in his mouth to keep from laughing as Trelawney drifted away leaving Alex looking completely bewildered.

* * *

With all the first day of term excitement Albus, Philip and Rose were relieved when they finally returned to the common room and flop down in front of the fire. Luckily, most teachers had been kind and hadn't given them much homework on their first day.

"Phew, I'm wrecked." Philip sighed dropping his heavy bag and collapsing into a large armchair.

"We still have to do our homework." Rose pointed out pulling out her Charms book.

Albus groaned. He wanted a break before starting any more work.

"Sorry about yesterday." Rose said as she busied herself with some new roles of parchment, "For not sitting with you on the train."

"Oh, no worries Rose. We were okay." Albus said, waving away her apology; this wasn't entirely true, he had been a little surprised and dare he admit it- hurt, when Rose had chosen to sit with the girls instead of with himself and Philip. He wasn't quite sure why it bothered him but he supposed it was understandable, he had spent plenty of time looking for Rose on the platform and then on the train.

"I hope you were able to find seats okay." Rose continued as she started making notes from the Charms book.

"Yeah, it was fine. We actually found Artemis and sat with her." Philip told her sleepily.

"Oh." Said Rose, pausing for a moment.

"And then James and his friends arrived, on the run from some Slytherins." Philip finished and Albus grinned at the momery of James and his friends toppling into their compartment with Tybalt Tyne chasing them.

Albus pulled out his Charms book too but was reluctant to start working. He spotted his brother arriving through the portrait hole with Blue and Alex in tow. They wound their way over.

"Ugh. I need sugar to recharge my energy!" Groaned Alex and Rose snorted.

"Don't tell me you've been working hard?" She asked sarcastically as Alex fell onto the couch next to Albus.

Alex looked offended, "Of course! I always work hard! Do you know how much energy it takes to_ not_ pay attention?"

Albus laughed as James sat next to Alex and Blue sat down in another armchair.

"Actually Rosie, you'll never believe whose the new top student in our Divination class!" James grinned at his cousin.

"No way!" Rose scoffed looking from James to Alex and back again.

James nodded, "Trelawney seems to think that Alex is the next great Seer or something!"

"Yep!" Enthused Alex, "By the way Rose, I see pain and suffering in your future - just a heads up."

Rose rolled her eyes, "So you've finally found a class you're good at?"

Alex shrugged modestly.

Just then, Rangi Pai appeared, leaning over the back of the couch.

"James! Quidditch trials are on Saturday week! Be there." Rangi informed James happily.

Albus and Philip exchanged a look, Philip had promised to help Albus train for his trial.

"Do I need to try out again?" James grinned knowing the answer, Albus knew his brother's position hadn't been very secure last year but all that was in the past now.

"Not while I'm captain!" Grinned Rangi clapping James on the shoulder a little too hard, "But you do have to be there. The whole team's going to have to help me set it up."

Albus didn't know what _it_ was but it made him feel a little queasy. Last year James was forced to fly through an obstacle course and then catch the snitch and Rangi's plans kept getting more and more eccentric. Albus felt he'd probably be lucky if he didn't have to try-out by battling a Dragon in midair.

In the millisecond Albus spent thinking this, Will had appeared at Rangi's elbow.

"Quidditch trials?" He asked with wide-eyes, "Can anyone try out?"

Albus groaned.

"Sorry, Will, no first years. Safety precausions." Rangi replied looking a little awkward.

This was only partly true. Exceptions could be made to this rule if the first year had a broomstick, which no first year could bring without permission from the Headmistress herself. Even still, first years lacked experience and often the Quidditch Captains didn't include them in trials. Also permission from a parent or guardian was needed for first years to play.

Professor Flint, the Flying teacher had actually managed to have this rule expanded to include second years too this year after a large number of accidents and complaints last year. When Professor McGonagall had announced this after the feast there had been much groaning from students but Albus didn't really care, he had sent a permission form to his parents first thing this morning and he knew they'd say yes.

"But you'll make an exception for me! Won't you Rangi?" Grinned Sora, bounding up to Rangi excitedly.

"Sorry Sora. No favouritism." Rangi said even more awkwardly, looking from the first year on one side to the first year on the other, neither of whom came anywhere near his shoulder in height.

_"Come on!"_ Sora whined, craning her head back to look at him imploringly. Will sulked.

"Don't know what you're so disappointed about." James said, glancing over at him, "You've never even flown before. How can you expect to make the team?"

Sora gave Will an incredulous look as he glared even more furiously than before,

"What? You've never even been on a broomstick and you expect to make the team?" She demanded and then burst out laughing.

Will turned bright red and his face filled with rage,

"Oh yeah! Well at least I don't have to go begging! _'Come on Rangi, you can make an exception for meee'_." Will yelled, quoting Sora in a high pitched, simpering voice.

"Okay, okay! Everybodies had a long day! Time for bed!" Called Rangi holding up his hands to seperate the bickering first years.

Will stormed up the stairs to the boys' dormitories and Sora charged up the girls as Rangi backed away looking alarmed and relieved,

"I better go. See you guys later." He said, still slowly stepping backwards.

Just then, Letitia turned up. She floated over, looking confused,

"What was that all about?" She asked inocently.

"Nothing important." Sighed James, looking tired, "Come upstairs. I need to talk to all of you."

Albus knew he wasn't included in this _'all'_ and watched as James, Blue, Alex and Letitia departed leaving Albus, Philip and Rose alone with their Charms homework once again.

* * *

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**Thanks.**


	9. Training and Thinking

**Sorry this is so late. Hope you enjoy!**

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**Chapter 9**

**Training and Thinking**

The week was long and the work was hard and when Albus and Philip finally reached the weekend they only had one thing on their minds – Quidditch.

Last year neither Philip nor Albus had been allowed to bring a broomstick to school. This year however they were in second year and could happily spend their weekends zooming around the grounds if they so pleased.

On Saturday morning, Albus awoke early, got dressed, woke Philip up, went down to the Great Hall and ate. Then, while most of the school was still tucked up in bed, they headed out into the light September drizzle with their broomsticks over their shoulders.

All morning, Albus trained and practiced with Philip. He was a lot of help. Philip had borrowed Rangi's key to the Gryffindor locker room where they found a truck with Bludgers and Quaffles.

At lunch time Rose appeared and called them in, the rain was getting heavier now and the skies looked stormy. Albus was reluctant to leave, he could see how much he was already improving, but his stomach was growling and his robes were sodden with rainwater.

Albus landed and himself and Philip ran to where Rose was standing with a large umbrella. Together they made their way back to the castle.

"How did training go?" Rose asked as she put down the umbrella in the entrance hall.

"Great!" Enthused Albus shaking his wet fringe out of his eyes so he could see better.

"You're soaked through, Al. You should go upstairs and change into drier clothes." Rose said looking at him worriedly.

"Please say we can eat first!" Albus whined gripping his empty stomach.

Rose sighed, "All right - but eat fast. You'll catch a cold going around like that."

They sat down at the long, Gryffindor table in the Great Hall and Philip and Albus began piling food onto their plates immediately. Around them students chatted and laughed and Rose sat watching them with an expression of amazement,

"Wow, you really are hungry…" She said as Philip snatched a hunk of bread and started eating it with his hands.

"Starb-fin'." Philip replied with his mouth full.

They talked as they ate, analyzing the first week of school and discussing their classes so far.

"There isn't much of a difference between first and second year, the work is a little more advanced but nothing _too_ difficult." Rose said thoughtfully.

"_Speak for yourself."_ Thought Albus, remembering the Swelling Spell he'd been struggling with in Charms all week.

"Artemis seems a lot more cheerful this year." Said Philip, looking over at where Artemis and Amanda were taking quietly at the other end of the table.

"Good. Hopefully she won't let that troll of a sister of hers bother her so much this year." Albus replied.

"About time too!" Added Rose, "I mean, I understand she was hurt by her sister but it's about time she got over it and just carried on. Who cares what Athena thinks of them anyway?"

Albus stared at Rose. She was right of course but it wasn't like Rose to be so harsh.

"Well they were stuck in a Herbology project group for all of last year." Philip pointed out.

Albus nodded; himself, Artemis, Athena and Paul had all been in a group together growing a plant together for their Herbology project last year. This is where he had first, regrettably befriended Paul and where Athena had often taunted her sister.

Albus glanced over at the Slytherin table for a second and spotted Paul sitting alone eating silently, for a moment he wondered if he had been wrong, if it had all been a misunderstanding but then he remember how he had betrayed them and a little voice that was unmistakably Paul's at the back of his memory said,

_"This is definitely it, Professor! The Whomping Willow, twelve midnight – I set the whole thing up!"_

The proof was unquestionable. Despite this, Albus still missed Paul, not the _real_ Paul but the Paul he thought he knew.

He looked back at the Slytherin table and this time spotted Scorpius Malfoy and his friends sitting several seats away and ignoring Paul completely. This was understandable. Last year when Paul had set Albus up, he'd also in effect, set Scorpius up too. It didn't surprise Albus that they weren't friends. At least Albus would never have to worry about his two enemies ganging up on him.

"Scorpius seems happy." Said Philip, following his friend's gaze.

"Mmm…" Albus replied.

It was true, Scorpius did look happy. He was bossing around his cronies as usual and looking important.

"Why do you think Tybalt Tyne is talking to Lysander Flint?" Asked Rose looking up too.

Albus saw Tybalt Tyne and his friends including Katherine Burke whom James had played the prank on during the train journey. Tybalt was indeed talking to Lysander; in fact they seemed to be in deep conversation.

"I wouldn't have thought they were friends, Lysander's in sixth year and Tybalt's only in third." Rose continued.

"Must be Quidditch stuff." Philip replied, "Your brother said something about Tybalt wanting to get on the team, didn't he?"

"Yeah," Answered Albus, "He said Tyne wanted to get on last year but didn't make it. They have a new opening this year, I bet he'll try out for that."

"Speaking of which." Rose started looking up at the ceiling of the Great Hall, which was bewitched to look like the sky outside, "I don't think you should go out practicing any more today. It looks like there's a storm coming."

Albus looked up too feeling disappointed.

"Don't worry, Al. We'll train some more tomorrow." Philip assured him.

"You know, if you did all your homework this afternoon you'd have all of tomorrow free." Rose pointed out smartly.

Albus pulled a face, "I guess… Let's go up to the common room." He suggested standing up.

Rose and Philip followed him out of the Hall and towards the marble staircase just as the first, faint, roll of thunder rattled the sky outside.

* * *

"Come on James, we don't want to be late." Called Blue, leading the way down the long staircase.

James, Alex and Blue were on their way to their first detention of the year. James followed miserably, dragging his feet on every step. Every Saturday evening, James, Blue, Alex, Albus, Rose and Philip were being forced to serve detention with Professor Longbottom down at the greenhouses.

"I hate detention." Whined James, he had wanted to ask Rangi about the bets he made on the Quidditch World Cup and on Gryffindor's final match last year. Himself and Leopold Rankin had been talking about it as if there were some kind of underground business going on here at school. James was highly intrigued and after all, Rangi had said he would tell him in September.

Still, he supposed it could be worse, at least they were serving detention with Professor Longbottom rather than Professor Flint like he had had to last winter. Surely it couldn't be too bad.

Several backbreaking hours later James and his friends with the addition of Albus, Rose and Philip were trudging back up the same staircase. Splattered with mud and groaning with aches the sorry group made their way back to the Gryffindor Tower.

Professor Longbottom had been sympathetic but had been determined to work them hard. They had been put to work digging furrows in the school gardens. It was tough, manual work and James felt exhausted.

It was dark outside now and all James wanted to do was go straight to sleep.

_"Perhaps that's why Longbottom is working us so hard," thought James, "so that we don't have the energy to sneak out at night any more."_ If this was the case, it was working.

James supposed he'd have to wait for another opportunity to talk to Rangi. There was always the Quidditch trial next week. He was sure to get a chance then.

Just outside the common room James met Will he looked grumpy, as usual.

"What's wrong with you now?" Asked James sighing.

James had been hoping that Will would settle in at Hogwarts and quit sulking. His parents had asked in their last letter how he was doing and James didn't know how to answer. He kept feeling that it was his job to do something but he didn't know what and honestly, he didn't want to have to help his second cousin. If Will would just settle in and cheer up all by himself then James could tell his parents and everything would be grand. Will wasn't his responsibility. He should be able to look out for himself.

"That stupid Flying teacher's a jerk! He won't even let us fly! Just blabs on and on about the history and theory of flying! As if anyone cares about that stuff!" Will grumbled.

"Yep. He's a jerk." James agreed. giving the password and following Will through the portrait hole.

"But when will I get to fly?" Will whined again.

"When he says so. There's nothing you can do about it." James dismissed.

"But you have a broom! I could go on yours!"

"No." James said quickly, "One, I'm not teaching you. Two, you'll hurt yourself or break it. And three, you're not allowed and I'll get in trouble and I'm already in enough of that."

Will glared at him, "What did you do?"

"None of your business." Snapped James, "Now, get lost Will, don't you have friends to complain to?"

"I don't like the other Gryffindors." Scowled Willard, "Wish I was somewhere else."

"Like where? No Muggle-borns are allowed in Slytherin, if they were, you'd be there." James pointed out.

"What about the others?" Will demanded.

James sighed, "Hufflepuffs for loyal, hardworking people and Ravenclaw's for smart people."

Will growled, then turned on his heel and marched off. James sighed again.

Letitia floated over, she had thankfully escaped punishment last year. Just as well, thought James, or McGonagall might not have let her stay.

"Your cousin looks upset." She told James.

"He's not my cousin." James said quickly.

"No. The other one. Dmitriy." Letitia informed him, "I saw him after History of Magic class. Will pushed him into a suit of armour and laughed at him."

James rolled his eyes, _"Great!"_ He thought. What was he meant to tell his parent's about Will now?

"You might want to tell Will not to be so mean. The other Gryffindors don't like him very much." Letitia continued sadly.

"He's not going to listen to me." James told her feeling exasperated. He hated feeling like he was responsible for Will's antics.

Letitia shrugged and followed as James led the way up to the third year boys' dormitory, Blue and Alex followed, deep in discussion.

"I told you already Alex, you can't simply _'make'_ the snake do something!" Blue sighed, "First we need to know what it does, how to make it do it and if it even does anything at all!"

"All I'm saying is, why would someone hide a useless hunk of metal in an enchanted forest if it doesn't even have any magical properties?" Alex asked bluntly.

"That's what I'm trying to find out!" Blue replied frustratedly.

"And what have you found out so far?" James asked timidly, he knew at once they were talking about the statue that he had left with Blue while he was in the Philippines.

"Nothing," Sighed Blue as they closed the door to their dorm.

Their roommates hadn't come up yet; they were probably doing homework or something in the common room below. James was glad they had the place to themselves. The statue was their secret and he intended to keep it that way.

"I looked through several books for a mention of anyone called Forrest but couldn't come up with anything!" Blue continued, "The problem is, we don't know how long ago it was that Forrest hid his 'treasure' here or why. We know he was going to die-"

"He was going to be killed." James pointed out.

He felt this made a significant difference, if Forrest was just going to die of natural causes there wouldn't have been the same urgency or danger involved. He didn't pass this on in a will or pass it on as he lay in his deathbed. He hid it for someone to find. Someone who had apparently never found it.

"Exactly. But we don't know why! Maybe he was going to be killed in order to get the treasure - in which case it didn't work." Agreed Blue.

"Maybe he wasn't meant to have the treasure and that's why he had to hide it. Maybe he stole it!" Enthused Alex.

"No." Contradicted Blue ignoring Alex's hurt expression, "He said he found it. He researched it and discovered it."

"Yeah but he would say that, wouldn't he?" Alex pointed out sulkily.

James was inclined to agree with Alex here, they couldn't rule it out. After all, they had found the first clue in a criminal's coat pocket. Blue however was still shaking his head but didn't add anything extra,

"Enough for today, I'm tired enough as it is." Blue said weakly, "I'll have another look in the library tomorrow."

Blue went to get ready for bed. Letitia said goodnight and flew off through the floor. Despite his body's exhaustion, James's mind was still wide-awake. He searched his memories for another clue as he got into his pyjamas and crawled into bed. He thought some more about the statue and the letter they had found last year and of all the riddles they had to solve to find it. It seemed unreal - something so strange and mysterious, a treasure hunt that had been untouched for goodness-knows how long finally solved by his small gang of students and yet they still didn't understand it.

He heard Rory and Owen return and Alex tossing in his bed. Whoever wrote the letter and hid the treasure, presumably named Forrest, had trusted that a particular person would find it. Someone he trusted and who would have known what it was. How would he feel now knowing a bunch of thirteen year olds and a ghost possessed his _'treasure'_?

A line echoed in his head, _'I believe and trust in you and in every decision you make and I can leave this world confident my work will survive.'_

For whatever reason, the person he believed and trusted in had never found the treasure. Forrest had died and no one knew his secret. Until now, and James didn't know what to do with it. Why was he killed? He had mentioned a war, joining someone's _'ranks'_ and _'going down fighting'_. Who was this man and what had happened to him after he had written that faithful letter. The last line echoed through James's heavy head as he drifted off to sleep,

_"Goodbye and good luck!"_


	10. An Abundance of Bludgers

**Again, really, really late! I'm so sorry! It looks like updating won't be as regular as I hoped but no worries, I'll keep writing. If I'm super, super late with chapters it's only because I physically CAN'T.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter despite the delay!**

* * *

**C****hapter 10**

**An Abundance of Bludgers**

Over the next two nights, James dreamt they had solved the Treasure Hunt from last year only to have it all turn out to be a conspiracy so that Professor Flint could expel him.

As he fought his way through Flying lesson on Monday, this conclusion became more and more believable.

After making him run laps for the first half of the lesson and nearly unseating him with a well-aimed Bludger during the second, Flint finally sent him to stand outside Professor Longbottom's office for the rest of class for _'cheek'_.

The punishment didn't bother James. It actually offered him some relief from Flint's constant nit-picking. If James had thought Flying lesson would e better now that he was firmly established on his house team, he was wrong. In fact, it just seemed to make Flint more furious.

Instead of trying to prove James wasn't good enough for the team. Flint now seemed to be aiming to make sure James was unfit to play the Gryffindor-Slytherin match in November.

He knew Professor Longbottom would never believe this if he tried to explain. In fact whenever he mentioned it he was conscience that he sounded like an arrogant and paranoid child, so he stood by the office door calmly, waiting to take whatever punishment he was given.

Only a moment later, Professor Longbottom stuck his head round the door and invited James in. James explained why he was there as Professor Longbottom surveyed him across his desktop.

"And why were you cheeky to Professor Flint, James?" The teacher asked calmly.

"It was an accident! I didn't mean to sound cheeky." James explained quickly from his seat opposite the Gryffindor Head of House.

Professor Longbottom sighed, "Perhaps you should be more careful how you speak to your teachers James. Now I believe that was the bell for the end of class – I suggest you hurry to your next lesson and make sure to be more polite in the future."

James got up to leave. He couldn't believe his luck. Professor Longbottom hadn't even taken any points from Gryffindor. He swung his school bag onto his shoulder and hurried off to rejoin Alex for Divination.

The rest of the week proceeded without any great incident, Alex was quickly becoming Professor Trelawney's favourite student and Hagrid started bringing a young Acromantula to Care of Magical Creatures on a leash. Many students hid or clambered onto fences or large boulders whenever the spider came near them and there was an almost constant sound of girls screaming but Hagrid maintained that the beast was only a baby and needed to be nursed back to health before being returned to the forbidden forest.

The way Hagrid talked about it, it was just a cute cuddly baby but not even his loyalty to Hagrid could force James to help him with his new pet after his experience in the forest last year. In the end it was only Blue who would help and even then it was with a frightened grimace and a thick pair of dragon-hide gloves.

Their classes this year were harder and James just couldn't get the hang of Divination no matter how hard he tried. In fact, he was barely managing to keep awake in the warm, dark classroom. It was only because Trelawney kept visiting Alex at their table that James even bothered to make an effort. She constantly congratulated him on his sensitive aura and flimsy predictions. They had started reading tealeaves and when Alex had suggested James's tealeaf dregs looked like an octopus Trelawney had delighted in telling James he was in terrible danger.

James decided the only danger he was in was of falling off his chair when he dozed off again and began to spend his classes staring out the window at the continuously stormy sky.

Luckily, as they progressed towards the weekend, the weather began to brighten. James felt his spirits soar as he thought about his glorious return to the Quidditch pitch on Saturday afternoon.

He had seen Albus outside most evenings practicing with Philip for the Quidditch trial and though he would never tell Albus, he was looking pretty good. James knew from playing with his younger brother in the past that Albus had good aim though was more accustomed to playing Chaser rather than Beater. He would have to work on the strength of his hits to make the team.

Though each class dragged by slowly, James found himself surprised when the relaxing weekend suddenly stretched out before him. He didn't even have much homework and decided to get it out of the way on Friday evening then stayed up late playing darts with Alex.

After lunch on Saturday James hurried down to the Quidditch pitch where he met Rangi and the rest of the team. Rangi saw him coming and waved him over,

"What do you think, James?" Rangi called enthusiastically, motioning around with his arms.

James looked up. What he saw made him stop in his tracks and stare.

Over a dozen Quidditch supply trunks were lying open around the feet of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Oswin was there too, he was standing beside Rangi talking to him urgently,

"I thought you said you got clearance? I thought Professor Longbottom said it was allowed." Oswin asked anxiously.

"Well, _'allowed'_ wasn't the _exact_ word he used. It was more something along the lines of _'perhaps do something safer'_ – so I provided safety equipment!" Replied Rangi happily pointing at a helmets, knee and elbow pads in a pile next to him.

"I don't think that's what he meant Rangi." Oswin warned him looking worried.

"Nonsense, Oswin! How are we meant to test prospective players if we don't put them in real, match situations?" Rangi laughed carelessly, thumping his friend on the shoulder fondly.

"How many matches have you played with around thirty Bludgers?" Oswin asked incredulously.

"A surprising amount actually…" Rangi replied thoughtfully.

"Molly! Talk some sense into him!" Oswin begged Molly as she strode past Beaters Bat in hand.

"Actually, I'm totally in favour of this." She told a desperate looking Oswin, "In fact, I'm rather looking forward to it."

James approached the group as Molly continued,

"Don't look so horrified Oswin. People have got to be ready for this kind of thing. If you can't take a few bruises, you shouldn't be playing. Quidditch is a dangerous game."

Oswin continued to look nervous as Rangi called over the rest of the team.

"Okay! Here's the plan everybody." Rangi started, grinning around at them all, "Those who wish to try out will form a line outside the stadium. As each player enters, they will be given their instructions. We will be test these candidates and I will pick one to join our ranks. The instructions are simple. Here, we have twenty-eight Bludgers. When I blow my whistle, we will release them all. Then, we will each levitate one of the dummies on the far side of the pitch. The player will defend these dummies while Molly hits Bludgers at them. This should give us a fair idea of how good these players will be when defending us! To make sure they try hard, I have bewitched each dummy to look like a player of the team as a baby-"

"What?" James frowned.

"That's right!" Rangi continued, " Your parents were all kind enough to send me some baby photos of each of you in order to make this trial extra effective!"

"Wait, WHAT?" James asked again staring around at his teammates who all looked lost for words except for Molly who appeared to be simmering with fury.

"Listen," Rangi said hotly, eyeing James, "When we are in the sky, in a match, we need protection. The _best_ protection. We already have one amazing Beater, we need another one. When we're playing, Bludgers shouldn't even _be_ an issue. Our Beaters should be keeping Bludgers away from us and hitting them at our opposition so the rest of us can carry on scoring, saving and seeking, got it?"

James nodded, too nervous to object again.

"We need a Beater who can protect us from harm – and if that means levitating baby-versions of our players into the air for these Beaters to protect, so be it." Rangi finished looking at them all with a seriousness he usually reserved for their matches.

The team grumbled a bit but nobody protested. James still had a hard time imagining Rangi writing a letter to their parents explaining why he needed their baby photos.

"Now, there are people gathered outside already. Molly, go organize them into a line while we finish setting up in here." Rangi commanded.

James made his way over to the dummies apprehensively; he began blushing furiously as he spotted his own dummy-baby sitting atop a tiny broom, five-times life size with a mop of dark hair and cherub-like cheeks. He was even quite sure he knew what picture it was from, the one of himself on a toy broom at the Burrow when he was about two.

The 'dummies' were more like large dolls than anything else, Fred, Benito and Paddy, the Chasers, had already started ramming their dolls into each other in the air. It looked like the babies were jousting on their baby brooms.

Rangi blew his whistle and James hurried back over.

"Ready team?" Rangi asked, grinning.

James was sure that, despite his serious talk, Rangi was really quite enjoying this.

"Molly! Call in the first player!" Rangi called and Molly returned with a confused looking fourth year. No doubt Molly had already explained his absurd instructions to him outside.

"Release the Bludgers!" Called Rangi merrily and James bent to let the Bludgers free from where they were strapped in the nearest Quidditch case.

"Defend the babies from the Bludgers..." He heard the fourth year muttering to himself as he strapped on some safety gear and took off.

Once the Bludgers were all released. James and the rest of the team pointed their wands at the dummies and began levitating them. Each player levitated their own dummy except for Molly who was high in the air with the fourth year. Oswin had taken charge of hers.

The fourth year wasn't actually too bad. By the end of his trial, none of the babies had been too drastically injured, except for Benito's, whose head was dangling off in a Nearly Headless Nick fashion. Luckily, Banito found this extremely funny and started laughing hysterically while Rangi made a few quick notes and the fourth year made a rather quick exit.

The trial went on in this fashion. Some of the Gryffindors trying out were absolutely dreadful. The team were not allowed to dodge the Bludgers and James found it quite disconcerting to see his two year old self getting bashed and disfigured in the sky above. Between each round Rangi restored the dummies with a flick of his wand while Molly caught her breath, drank some water and fetched a new player. It looked like hard work up there and they hadn't found anyone nearly as good as Molly or the Beater from last year, Astra Hughes, who had finished school in June.

Though it was rather early, a few spectators had begun to gather around the pitch. James hoped none of them had eyesight good enough to see the dummies too well from across the pitch.

He spotted Will watching, sitting alone at one end of the stands and Sora Wood watching with another first year who looked rather uninterested and was shivering a little in the cold breeze. James also saw Philip, Rose and Albus's other friend Amanda sitting near the center looking excited.

* * *

Albus stood in the queue of Gryffindors patiently awaiting their turns to try-out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He felt sick as he reached the front and clutched his broomstick tightly with both hands.

He hadn't been able to see anybody else's trial but most of the other students here were older and much taller and stronger than he was.

His cousin Molly emerged. She had been bringing each player onto the pitch one by one for their turn. She had also scared away any of those who weren't taking the trial seriously and all the first years who had tried to sneak in. She had warned them all the trial was dangerous and Albus had been pondering this the whole time as he waited. Maybe he hadn't been too far off with the dragon.

"Ready?" Molly demanded, it was clear that she wasn't going to show any favour towards him just because he was his family.

Albus followed her.

"Your task is simple." She informed him as they walked back the way she had come, "I hit twenty-eight Bludgers at you, you deflect them to defend yourself and the babies."

Albus could tell from her bored voice that Molly had already explained this more times than she had wished and yet he felt sure she had made a mistake. _'What babies?'_ He thought to himself but he wasn't going to bother asking, Molly's expression was enough to say she was sick of answering questions.

"If you want safety equipment, there's some available for you to use." She gave him a quick look up and down, "You'll need it." She added as they emerged onto the pitch.

Albus didn't reply, he was too busy thinking that twenty-eight Bludger shots was an odd number to finish on, why not do thirty, or even forty, twenty of each Bludger? That was when he noticed the Bludgers already flying around the sky. Molly hadn't meant deflect twenty-eight Bludger hits, she had meant deflect twenty-eight Bludgers _at once_.

Albus tried to hide the alarm on his face and quickly made his way over to the safety equipment, it looked like Molly was right. He was going to need it.

* * *

Albus was one of the last students to try-out. James saw him looking scared but bracing himself as he drew nearer. After strapping on a helmet and some elbow, knee and shin pads, Albus took off.

James wanted to wish him luck but knew Rangi would tell him it was unprofessional. Rangi took Quidditch rules so seriously it almost made up for his complete disregard for rules of any other kind.

Anyway, James could congratulate him after his trial as Fred had done for him last year.

He could hear Rose and Albus's other friends cheering in the stands as he prepared to levitate his dummy yet again. He ducked as a Bludger swooped near his head and then heard the sound of the whistle – and they were off.

* * *

Albus could feel his heart beating so hard in his chest he felt like he'd already been flying for hours. Hopefully all that training he had been doing with Philip all week was finally about to pay off. He could hear his friends cheering in the distance. He didn't want to look at them though, not now, not when he was feeling this nervous. He needed to focus.

He took up his position. He could finally see what Molly meant about the babies as they floated up behind him. He almost laughed when he saw the baby-James-dummy and it made him feel a bit more relaxed. He took a deep breath as the whistle blew.

A heartbeat later and Albus found a dozen Bludgers hurtling towards his charge. He darted around on his broom deflecting the Bludgers as rapidly as possible. Through the continuous stream of hard, black balls he could hear Molly sending them back at him vigorously, a '_twack!_' noise echoing through the air with each hit. He sped from side to side trying his best to defend all the babies at once. He could feel his forehead tingling with salty sweat and his arms ached but he kept going.

If this was what being Beater for theGryffindor team, he wasn't quite sure if he was ready for it yet. Panic clouded his head and he missed a couple of Bludgers. Then he shook his head - he needed to focus. He knew he could do this if he really tried. He'd been training for this moment all summer, he couldn't give up now.

Albus felt spurred on as determination took over. He focused on Molly and where she was sending each Bludger - left, right, left again, far left, far right - he could feel his heart pounding but his head was clear and his mind alert. He barely dodged a Bludger to his head then it crashed into baby Paddy behind him. He was distracted for a moment and another Bludger crashed into his left leg. He yelled out in pain.

He clenched his broom tightly in one hand and his bat in the other. He could do this! He could work through the pain. He shook it off. Focused again. Deflected a particularly difficult hit, rolling in mid-air. His confidence grew. Another Bludger soared towards him and he swung into it, sending it back the way it came. He saw the surprise register on Molly's face as she dodged it. Then she grinned and Albus grinned too just as Rangi blew the whistle for time up.

Albus sank to the ground, relief flooding him, solid ground meeting his feet, and he was exhausted but oddly satisfied. He knew he had impressed Molly by fighting back and despite everything, he was proud of his performance. He glanced behind him at the dummies, some seemed to have received minor injuries but all were still intact. He almost laughed when he saw James's arm hanging limply at its side but other than that he appeared to have done a pretty good job.

'_James will probably say I let that one through on purpose._' Albus thought to himself still grinning.

Albus heard his friends cheering, he wondered if they had been cheering the whole time, he hadn't heard them. He dismounted as Fred appeared at his side,

"Not bad shorty! Guess we'll have to wait and hear what the Captain says, eh? Who knows, you could be the fourth in the family to make this team!"

Albus grinned**.**


	11. Secret Clubs

**Chapter 11**

**Secret Clubs**

James looked at his dummy as he gently floated it back to earth. It's arm was hanging almost ripped off at the shoulder,

_'Bet Al let that through on purpose!' _He thought bitterly. He knew it wasn't true but it did seem a bit suspicious that the only dummy to receive a major injury was his.

Albus looked thrilled as he made his way across the pitch towards the stands where his friends were waiting. James ran over and slapped him on the back,

"Good job, Al! You did good up there." He grinned swallowing his pride for a minute - he hated complimenting Albus.

"Thank James." Albus grinned bashfully.

James departed quickly, letting his younger brother be enveloped by his delighted friends. James still didn't know how he felt about the possibility of Albus joining the team. On one hand, he was happy for him and he knew that Albus deserved it, having played Quidditch with him for as long as James could remember. However, on the other hand, James enjoyed being on the team and he didn't want Albus to mess that up for him. They often fought and being a team was never something they had excelled at.

And what if their fights affected their performance? Would Rangi put up with it? Would he still be to happy to have the brothers on the team? Would he kick one of them off? Would it be James? He had yet to catch the snitch in an inter-house Quidditch match. What if Rangi started to prefer Albus to him? To him, Rangi was a mentor and a friend, they seemed to have a closer bond than Rangi did with Freddy and his friends and James liked it that way. What if Albus became his new favourite and James was shunted to the side? And what if, Merlin forbid, Albus became better than James?

James tried to push these thoughts to the back of his head but through the final few try-outs they kept slipping back. None of the last competitors were any good. He had kind of been hoping that one would blow them away and Albus would be obscured as a candidate in Rangi's mind. James knew Albus was up there as one of the best. Now he would have to wait and see if Rangi thought he _was_ the best.

When the final try-out was over, the Gryffidor team cleared the pitch of Bludgers and dummies and made their tired way back to the castle. It was already mid-afternoon and James was exhausted. He helped Rangi put away some of the Quidditch supplies. Some were just from the Quidditch supplies in the changing room, the rest belonged to Rangi.

"So what did you think?" James coaxed as they made their way towards the school, Molly, Oswin and the Chasers laughing as they ambled along ahead.

"Nice try but I'm not telling you anything yet, James! I have to look over my notes tonight and do a lot of thinking. I haven't made my mind up on anything yet." Rangi grinned and James gave up.

"I've been meaning to ask you about something Rangi." James told him remembering his other important questions.

"Oh yeah? What's that then?" Rangi asked eyeing him suspiciously.

James tried, and failed, to look innocent, "You said you'd tell me what that business at the Quidditch World Cup with Rankin was about in September."

"Well technically, I said you could be told in third year, I never said I'd tell you." Rangi pointed out, James glared at him, "But I can see you're not going to give this up so I might as well be the one to relay the information." Rangi added quickly.

James grinned, that was more like it.

"A couple of years ago a little business started up. Taking bets on Quidditch games, duels, anything really! It grew and now well, now it's become a sort of club. Naturally, we couldn't have the teachers finding anything out. There's a tight-knit group of people running it. The whole thing's very secretive. That's why it's third years and up - we can't have little kids running around betting and gambling, plus it would be sure to get out eventually. Only people who really want to get in, can find a way to make it, that's how they know it'll stay a secret. Also, it's like a huge ego-boost - the more popular you are, the more likely to get in. The more you're in, the more popular you become." Rangi explained as they climbed the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall.

"Wait, what do you mean, _'the more in you are'_? Surely, if you're in - you're in." James asked feeling puzzled but with his curiosity growing with every step.

"Not necessarily." Rangi replied, frowning slightly, "There's different levels, see? Bronze, Silver, Gold. Only the elite of the elite get into gold. Bronze is where the masses are but even then, it's not easy to get in."

"So, if there's an age limit or whatever, how come Julius Binns knew what was going on?" James asked.

"Ah, yes, well. He seems to the exception all right." Rangi frowned.

"Exception? I thought it was all _'tight-knit'_ and _'secretive'_." James pointed out skeptically.

"James, there are always exceptions." Chuckled Rangi, "Julius works for them, or at least, he works for Rankin who works for them - treasurer or something. He's my best connection, as Quidditch Captains our paths cross pretty often. Don't really like the guy, always kind of smug and cocky when it comes to his team - mind you, he'll need something better than last years, if he plans to keep on bragging. But business is business and off the pitch Rankin is very professional, he knows what he's doing and who knows, maybe the cocky part is all just an act."

James shrugged, he didn't know how much he liked Rankin but he sure knew he liked the sound of this club.

"So, what's the name of the club then?" He asked eagerly.

"Ah, that's the genius of the thing, it's completely untraceable-" Rangi said mysteriously.

"_Meaning_?" James coaxed.

"I don't know." Admitted Rangi.

James gaped at him.

"You don't know the name of the club?" He asked staring at Rangi disbelievingly.

"No. But I do know the symbol. That's what you have to look out for." Rangi told James as he continued to stare at him with his mouth open, "It's a Diamond, Club, Heart and Spade with two dice in the middle. You'll know it if you see it."

James nodded committing this vital information to memory.

"Now don't go telling this information to anyone!" Rangi warned him, "Well, except maybe Blue and Alex, I know you're going to tell them anyway - but tell them not to repeat it, you hear? We can't have this getting out. I've already said more than I should have. Especially don't mention Leopold Rankin or Julius Binns. You're not really meant to know who's working there. Even if you're in the club you only know a couple of the workers and not the really important ones. I don't think Molly even knows about Rankin, just myself and Oswin - and now you of course."

"That's why you waited till she left to talk about it with him at the cup." James realized, remembering how Rangi had only started talking about the money once Molly had marched off, "So how did you find out about Rankin then?"

"Eh... Long story." Rangi said guiltily avoiding James's eyes.

James didn't say anything. They were in the Gryffindor common room now. They made their way over to the spiral staircase that led to the boys' dorms.

"Anyway," Rangi continued in a hushed voice, "No-one would ever suspect Rankin, you see. He's the perfect student. Top grades, Prefect, Quidditch Captain, you name it. In fact, I really shouldn't have said anything to him in front of you either."

James shrugged, "I'll keep it quiet, don't worry. I'm only asking 'cause I want to get in myself."

"That's what I figured and I know how you feel. That's why I'm telling you this but as I said before, you've got to be careful. As I said, the club's very selective, very secretive - if any one lets out how to find it, there'd be mayhem." Rangi said worriedly.

"Okay, okay, I get it." James assured him, "So how do I get in?"

"I'm afraid I can't help you there." Rangi told him, he took the Quidditch supplies James was still carrying.

James realized they had already reached the sixth year dorms.

"Good luck anyway James."

The Quidditch Captain disappeared through the door. James trudged up to his own dorm feeling slightly disappointed. He still didn't know how to get into the club but he sure knew a lot more than he did this morning. He decided he'd tell Blue and Alex. Together, the three of them were sure to find out what you had to do to get into this mysterious club. He thought about the symbol Rangi had told him about but he couldn't remember ever seeing it anywhere.

He'd keep an eye out and an ear open. Sooner or later he was sure to hear something more.

* * *

Albus was in high spirits for the rest of the day. He knew he had performed well in the Quidditch try-out and whether he got on the team or not, at least he had proven himself today. He was so happy with his performance that he decided to write a letter home. After dinner he headed for the Owlery to send it off. Philip offered to accompany him but Albus wanted the time alone to think. Most of the students were still gathered in the Great Hall and the corridors were deserted but it was peaceful.

He reached the stairs to the Owlery and began climbing them, thinking about how well this year seemed to be going but as he climbed he suddenly noticed voices growing louder. They were coming from the Owlery and it sounded as if two people were having a rather hushed argument. Albus suddenly got a nervous feeling in his stomach as he listened to the hostile voices and realised just how far away everybody else was.

_"I__ shouldn't be here."_ He thought, he had a bad feeling about this situation.

Clearly this conversation was private. What would happen if he interrupted something? Or heard something he wasn't meant to? He wished he had taken Philip up on the offer to join him as he suddenly felt very alone.

Then, a door at the top of the stairs opened and he could hear the voices more clearly.

"And he definitely won't be suspicious?" Asked one voice.

They sounded older than Albus and slightly familiar.

"I told you. He'd be the first one asking to help if he knew what we were doing." Replied another voice sounding a little annoyed.

"Okay, okay. I just want to be sure. We don't want word getting out." Snapped the older-sounding boy.

Albus took a few steps down the stairs, maybe if it looked like he'd only just arrived, they wouldn't think he'd heard anything.

"I get it, okay! But like I said, he'd be on our side." Retorted the younger boy as their footsteps grew closer.

"I just don't want you drawing attention to yourself!" The familiar voice said angrily, "For once keep your head down."

"Hey, I'm just acting natural! If I stopped acting like myself then people would get suspicious! Anyway, my whole life doesn't revolve around this."

"Well, if you want to get on the team, it should."

Albus took another few steps down the stairs and reached the bottom, he started to climb up again just as two pairs of feet came into sight. Albus quickly busied himself, re-reading the address on his letter as if double checking his spelling.

"Fine, if picking on first years makes you look less suspicious, by all means continue, but if you give anything away, you're out. Got that Tyne?" Said the older boy who was a couple of paces ahead.

"But-"

"Shh."

Albus glanced up, Lysander Flint was standing above him, glaring at him suspiciously. Albus tried to look innocent and surprised, like he hadn't heard the other boys coming. Behind Lysander, Tybalt Tyne stood looking fairly bad-tempered, as usual. His red hair stood up vertically in short spikes and his Slytherin robes hung off him untidily. Lysander began walking again. Albus tried not to look guilty as Lysander shoved his way past on the narrow staircase. Whatever this was, he wasn't too keen on getting involved. Anything that involved Lysander Flint and Tybalt Tyne teaming up, had to be bad news.

Albus continued up past Lysander and Tybalt, who gave him an unfriendly shove as he passed.

After waiting a couple of silent moments Albus glanced behind him, watching Lysander and Tybalt disappear from view whispering urgently, but much more quietly than before.

_"That was weird."_ Thought Albus.

Why had Lysander and Tybalt been arguing in the Owlery while the rest of the school were at dinner in the Great Hall? Though Albus didn't know either of the Slytherins very well, he knew enough to be sure he didn't like them. Tybalt Tyne was hot-headed and a bully. He had once before come face-to-face with him in first year. He also knew he hated James and was jealous that he had made it onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Lysander Flint he knew even less. His father was the Flying teacher and Albus had once had the pleasure of once having Lysander supervise a detention he had received from Professor Flint. Rangi Pai and Lysander Flint were bitter rivals, both on the Quidditch pitch and off. Other than that, their paths had never really crossed.

Albus sent his letter and returned to Gryffindor tower. There he met Philip and Rose who were reading something on the notice board in the corner.

"Hi. What's that you're reading?" He asked as he approached.

Rose smiled excitedly, "Come and see Albus! It's a notice about an exchange trip."

Albus scanned the notice. It was advertising a foreign exchange trip to Beauxbatons Academy in France.

"They nearly never do exchanges you know." Enthused Rose, "This is a great opportunity, Beauxbatons is meant to be a really great school."

"You mean you're actually thinking of going?" Asked Albus pulling a face.

"Well... maybe." Rose replied hesitantly, "I mean, I'll have to ask Mom and Dad and see what they think and of course, find out the requirements, I doubt just anyone can go - but it does sound exciting."

Albus looked at the notice again. What was so much better about going to school in France rather than going to school here? There didn't seem to be such a difference to him. Also, he liked Hogwarts, who knew what this '_Beauxbatons'_ place would be like and it would be like starting first year again, not knowing anyone. The whole idea of it made him queasy.

"Everyone will speak French though Rose." Philip pointed out. He didn't look like he thought it was a great opportunity either.

"I'm not saying it won't be difficult but I've actually always wanted to learn French and I barely speak any." Rose said nervously, "And Beauxbatons has such a great reputation academically."

"So does Hogwarts." Albus said defensively.

"I know. Think how wonderful it would be to attend both! It's just for a year after all and it would be so interesting to learn about the variations in magical education in two different countries!" Rose enthused.

"It's for a whole _year_?" Albus asked.

Rose sighed, "I won't expect you to understand then but I think it's a great chance - they nearly never offer exchanges."

"But Rose-" Albus begged thinking of how weird it would be to have Rose in a different school so far away, "What's wrong with Hogwarts?"

"You just don't get it, Al!" Rose snapped.

Albus tried protesting again but Rose stormed up to her dormitory and he couldn't follow her. He sighed glancing at Philip who just shrugged. They decided to go sit by the fire and play wizards chess for a while. After their game, which Philip won easily, Albus told him about seeing Tybalt and Lysander on his way to the Owlery. Philip agreed that it was strange and when James, Alex and Blue came over to join them, Philip asked them about it.

"Albus just saw Tybalt Tyne talking to Lysander Flint at the Owlery, it sounded like they were arguing over something." Philip told them.

"Yeah, they talk all the time." Replied Alex carelessly, "No idea why."

"We thought Tybalt'd hate Flint 'cause he won't give him a spot on the Quidditch team." James agreed.

"We're pretty sure the Slytherin team's got a height restriction." Grimaced Blue.

"Yep! That's why he always spikes his hair up like that!" Agreed Alex cheerfully.

Albus couldn't help but laugh at this. It wasn't hard to see that Lysander always chose big and brawny Slytherins for his team. All the Slytherin players seemed to be very large and very tall. Tybalt was quite scrawny and he wasn't particularly tall, especially as he was only thirteen and most of the team were around sixteen.

James didn't seem to find the behavior suspicious and dismissed it as, _'Birds of a feather' _but Albus was still unsure. He didn't think Lysander and Tybalt were friends the way James and Rangi were, but perhaps he was just reading too much into it.

Albus and Philip soon found themselves forgetting all about the Slytherins as they laughed and joked along with James, Alex and Blue. Eventually Rose even came back down stairs but she didn't go over. She chatted with Amanda and Artemis for a while and Albus was glad to see she didn't seem angry anymore.

Eventually, they all retreated to their dormitories for a good night's rest but Albus, suddenly remembering that Rangi was sure to have chosen his new Seeker by tomorrow, didn't think that a good night's rest was too likely as he lay awake staring at the ceiling.

* * *

**So, so, so sorry about how long this took! Thank you for your patience! And thanks to everyone who has reviewed! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and there aren't too many mistakes!**


	12. Relative Issues

**Late again, I really a sorry but believe me I am doing the best that I can. **

**Has everyone seen my new cover for 'The Secret Treasure of Hogwarts'? It took a while but I'm really happy with how it turned out! Hopefully I'll be able to make one for this story too at some point but it won't be for a while.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed so far.**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**Relative Issues**

Sunday came and went and no new notices appeared on the board in the Gryffindor common room. Albus tried to keep himself occupied but his mind kept wandering back to the Quidditch trial and wondering if he had done enough.

On Monday they were back to classes and Albus checked the notice board yet again as he headed down to breakfast.

"It must be really close if it's taken Rangi this long to make up his mind." Mused Philip as they left the common room.

"Mmm…" Albus responded.

Every time he looked at that board he would get a lurch of nerves, soon followed by hollow disappointment.

"Where's Rose?" He asked his friend.

"Already gone down to the Great Hall I think." Replied Philip.

They soon reached the hall and Philip's guesses proved correct. They took their seats beside Rose who was chatting with Artemis and Amanda.

"Most people outside of France never even get to see Beauxbatons! The magic schools are really protective of their locations you know. I'm not even sure what country Durmstrang is in." Rose was telling them enthusiastically.

"It really is the chance of a life time." Agreed Artemis.

"Do you think you might go?" Amanda asked her.

"I might." Artemis said thoughtfully, "It would be nice to explore somewhere new and I hate going to the same school as Athena. You know, I think I'll write to my dad and ask what he thinks."

"Good for you Artemis." Smiled Philip.

Artemis smiled back.

"What about you Amanda?" Albus asked.

"Oh, I don't think so." Amanda said shaking her head, "I don't think my parents would be happy for me to be so far away. Anyway, I'm so shy! It's be like being in first year all over again, surrounded by people I don't know! Only this time, they wouldn't even speak English!" She said shivering, "I don't think I could do that."

Albus looked meaningfully at Rose. He hoped she had heard that. It was all well and good to get wrapped up in the adventure side of things but in his opinion Amanda made some very good points. To his disappointment, however, Rose was talking to Artemis again about Beauxbatons Palace.

James, Alex and Blue sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Albus as he ate his breakfast. They were arguing about the attributes of Fanged Frisbees over Whaling Water Balloons.

"Listen, if you're throwing a Whaling Water Balloon at someone, they'll hear it coming. You can't catch 'em by surprise. But if you're throwing a Fanged Frisbee-" Alex argued.

"But with a Whaling Water Balloon, you soak people. It's funnier. It doesn't matter if you catch them by surprise or not. They're about to get drenched in water either way." James pointed out.

"Not if they dodge it." Countered Blue.

On Albus's other side, Rose, Amanda and Artemis had all finished eating and were getting up to leave.

"Okay, we'll meet you in class." Called Philip as they waved and left the hall,

"Hey Albus, look, there's Will," Philip said glancing at Albus.

Albus looked at where he was pointing. Will was hurrying into the Hall, looking hassled.

"What's he doing coming to lunch this late?" Albus frowned, "He'll barely have time to eat."

"I know he's a pain but he really does seem miserable, Al." Philip said sadly, "Have you told your parents how he's getting on?"

Albus shook his head. He knew his parents were trying hard to help Will settle into the Wizarding World, to get along better with Dudley and his wife. He supposed Will was still just settling in but there was no point in Albus trying to talk to him, Will had never liked him even before the summer.

"You should try talking to Will, James." Albus said turning to his brother.

James looked up the table to where Will was eating alone and sighed, "Fine but I don't know what good it will do."

Albus got up to leave just as Will did the same. He had hardly eaten anything. Albus paused as Will hurried passed on his way towards the door but James stuck his hand out to block him before he got past.

"Hey Will. What's up?" James asked casually.

"Nothing!" Snapped Will.

Albus stood watching cautiously.

"Whoa! Fine. No need to be so snappy." James said innocently.

"Can I get passed now?" Will demanded moving around James's extended arm.

"Hey! What's the hurry-" Objected James quickly, reaching out and grabbing Will's forearm.

"Ouch!" Will yelped, tugging his arm away.

James frowned and then swung his legs over the bench and stood up. Will tried to avoid him but James was too quick. A moment later, James had grabbed his hand and yanked up his sleeve. Dotted all along Will's arm were small bruises.

"How'd you get them?" James demanded as Will pulled his arm out of his grip, letting his sleeve fall back over the injured arm.

"Fell off a broomstick…" Muttered Will furiously.

"I thought Flint wasn't letting you fly." James said frowning.

"Just leave me alone James! I don't need you babysitting me, okay?" Will yelled shoving him out of the way.

James stood, momentarily stunned, as some of the surrounding students glanced around curiously.

"_What_ was that all about?" Alex asked staring at Will as he exited the hall.

"No idea. You know what, Al. I'm absolutely sick of him! Maybe he'd settle in if he actually tried." James said angrily.

Albus didn't know what to say. It sure did seem that Will was trying even harder than ever to be a grouch. He knew Will would never have let him talk to him but Will had admired James all summer long, and sure, he had been a pest, but Albus had never expected him to act like that towards James.

"Come on. We'll be late to class." Philip said pointedly.

Albus followed him from the hall his mind completely devoid of thoughts of the Quidditch team for the first time in days.

* * *

"Hi Julius!" Said James running to catch up with the Ravenclaw as they departed the Potions classroom, "I have to say, nice idea adding that extra drop of Hellebore syrup to counter dizziness."

With one hand on Julius's shoulder he carefully steered him ahead of the rest of the chattering group as Alex and Blue closed in on the other side.

"It has been known to come in handy. So long as it's not used in excess of course. It's a risky one but I think it's worth it." Julius said knowledgeably, "I've been using it quite a lot to make a voice-altering potion if you're interested."

"I might have to come back to you on that one." Alex said quickly before James changed the subject.

"Listen Julius-"

"I know what you're going to say." Julius sighed, "I've been expecting this since the Cup but honestly, I can't help you."

"Aw come on Julius," James begged.

"Yeah! You got to tell us something. We just want to know how to get in." Coaxed Alex.

Julius sighed again and glanced over his shoulder,

"Okay, I'll tell you how to get in. So long as you keep the whole thing quiet. Especially about me. If teachers hear anything-"

"We get it, we get it. Don't worry." Alex said with a finger to his lips.

Glancing behind him again, Julius started, "There are two ways in. One, to be personally invited in but only really popular, trustworthy and respected students are asked. For everybody else, there's a system of recommendations organised. People with access to Bronze have three bronze recommendations, got it?"

James, Alex and Blue nodded eagerly.

"To get in, you need three Bronze recommendations, two Silver or one Gold." Julius informed them, "However, you can't get two recommendations from one person. So you need three Bronze members, two Silver or one Gold to let you in."

"Ehh…" Alex said looking confused.

"So basically, you need to be approved by several members." Blue said.

"Pretty much. Unless you get a recommendation from a Gold member but most people don't even know who those are. It's a very small group of elite." Julius told them.

"But you work there! You must be Gold!" Alex enthused.

"Actually," Julius said blushing slightly from the apparent compliment, "I only just got in myself. I was underage before so I couldn't use the facilities, as it were."

"But now you can let us all in right?" Alex asked eagerly.

"Sorry, Alex, but it doesn't work like that. As I said, each member has a limit of recommendations. I couldn't get any of you in." Julius said softly, "Now, I've got to get to my next class but good luck."

With that he hurried off. James watched disappear around a corner, feeling disappointed.

"What now?" Alex whined, "He was our only lead."

"I guess I can try Rangi again. Maybe he'll have some recommendations." James said sadly.

Through the next class they whispered quietly about the club and how they might get in.

"You could try Freddy." Suggested Alex.

James pulled a face, "I can't really. We don't know if he's in or not and you're not meant to talk about it with too many people."

"Add that to what you need to ask Rangi." Blue said.

James nodded, he knew Rangi was the most likely person to help him get in but even he seemed strangely closed on the matter. He was probably a bit nervous of giving too much away and putting the whole club in peril.

At lunchtime they hurried down to the Great Hall. James was starving but just as he reached the bottom of the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall, he froze. Two voices were echoing through the big doors to the Great Hall.

"Listen, Rankin. If I, _as a Prefect,_ confiscate something, you cannot _un_-confiscate it!"

"I'm a Prefect too, you know and technically, having one of those, is not against the school rules."

"Using it in here is!"

"So give him a warning."

James glanced from Alex to Blue and then timidly, made his way into the Great Hall.

"You can't go around protecting your own team Rankin!"

"This isn't about that, I just think you're being too hard on the guy."

Molly was standing just inside the Great Hall argueing with Leopold Rankin as the surrounding crowds watched nervously.

"Oh yeah. And it's just a _complete_ coincidence that he's on your Quidditch team and he needs that bat for practice later?" Demanded Molly.

"And it's just a coincidence that you play Beater on an opposing Quidditch team?" Countered Leopold.

"You think I did this to sabotage your team?"

"Hey! You said it."

"You are unbelievable! You should take this position more seriously or I might have to report you to Professor McGonagall." Molly said crossing her arms defensively.

"You'd go crying to Professor McGonagall about me?" Leopold asked with raised eyebrows.

"It would be my job report you, I take this position a lot more professionally than you do."

"Are you saying I'm a bad Prefect? Why do you think I got this job then? I happen to have perfect grades. No to mention I'm the President of the Chess Club, treasurer for the Student Library Committee and Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team."

"Is this a competition to you? Because, unless you have forgotten, I am the head of the Charms club, co-captain of the Duelling club and-"

"Vice-Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. No I have not forgotten. But may I remind you that Vice-Captain is not the same as C_aptain_." Leopold said smugly.

"Vice-Captain of Gryffindor is better than captain of Ravenclaw. When was the last time you won the Cup again? Sometime during the 1980s?" Molly pointed out venomously.

"Ouch! Well that doesn't matter either way. We all know why you got Prefect, don't we? Your father being Minister for Magic wouldn't influence anything, now would it?"

At this Rangi had to step forward and physically restrain Molly. With a vice-like grip he steered her away from Leopold Rankin and towards the Gryffindor table.

Leopold smirked but he looked almost impressed.

"First Will, now this." Sighed James.


	13. Congratulations

**Chapter 13**

**Congra****tulations**

"Albus! Albus!"

Albus turned around in the corridor to see who was calling him and spotted Amanda running after him, blond hair flying and school bag bouncing up and down on her back. "There's a new notice on the board in the common room!" Said Amanda gasping for breath as she drew level with Albus and Philip, "I didn't read it but I think it's the Quidditch team list!"

"Seriously?" Asked Albus eyes widening.

Amanda nodded.

"Let's go look!" Albus said turning to Philip.

Philip nodded eagerly.

"Thanks Amanda!" Albus quickly said to Amanda.

"No problem! Good luck, Al."

The two boys headed off at a sprint. Albuus began regretting how much he had just eaten for dinner as they thundered up their fifth staircase. Finally, they reached the portrait hole and leapt into the Gryffindor common room. Most students were still eating in the Great Hall.

They hurried over to the notice board and there, tacked up next to the notice about the French exchange trip sign was a neat list of names.

"Gryffindor Quidditch Team: Captain/Keeper – Rangi Pai, Vice-captain/Beater – Molly Weasley, Beater – Albus Potter-"

Albus blinked and stared at the notice again, he read his name three more times before he could believe it.

"You did it, Al! You made it!" Cheered Philip jumping around.

"Look! You're here too! Reserve Keeper!" Albus said, finally reading the rest of the notice.

"I know." Philip said cheeks darkening as he blushed slightly, "Rangi asked me earlier at lunch. I didn't want to tell you until the list went up."

"This is so cool! Now we can keep training together and everything." Albus enthused.

"Yeah, well, I'm just a reserve so I probably won't be playing much but Rangi says I can train whenever I want. He doesn't want to be stuck again after what happened last year." Philip explained.

Last year, Rangi had not been allowed to play one of his matches and had no reserve in place, it had been a disaster. Albus could see why he wanted to avoid a repeat.

"Come on. Let's go tell Rose and Amanda! We've got to celebrate!" Grinned Philip.

Albus followed him back out of the common room to go and find Rose and Amanda, excitement threatening to overwhelm him.

* * *

James swung his broomstick over his shoulder. He had just finished an exhausting training session and was eager to get back to the castle but he wanted to talk to Freddy first. He had asked Rangi and he had confirmed that Freddy was in the club but didn't think he'd have any recommendations to spare. But James thought he might aswell ask.

"Hey! Freddy, Paddy, Benito? Wait up a second!" He called hurrying after his cousin and his friends.

"What's up James?" Freddy asked as he joined the group on their way towards the castle.

"Listen, I've been hearing a lot about a Gambling Club being run here at Hogwarts and I want in." James said in a low voice.

"Yeah, you and half the school!" Laughed Benito.

"Well, you're all in! I checked with Rangi." James protested.

"Ah, so that's who's been telling you." Smiled Paddy.

"Well, what do you think? Can you get me in?" James asked directly to Freddy.

"Sorry, James." Freddy said apologetically, "We just got in ourselves. It wasn't easy but we managed to cut a deal with Coolio McLaggen. None of us have any recommendations to spare but if there's one person who might it's Coolio."

"Coolio McLaggen?" James asked, he had heard of Coolio before but didn't know him personally.

"Yeah, he's a Hufflepuff in our year. Super-popular. He's got good connections and he can help you get in. He made us a deal to get one of us in and then, basically swapped our recs with a couple of other people so instead of having three from Freddy, I got one from Freddy and then two from other people." Explained Beinto.

"So you just swap?" James asked raising his eyebrows.

"Pretty much. It's not strictly allowed but…" Freddy admitted trailing off.

"Okay, well, I guess I'll try talking to him then." James agreed as they reached the castle and he went to look for Blue and Alex.

* * *

"Enjoy training James?" Albus asked his brother in the Entrance Hall after walking back from the Quidditch pitch. He had so far been thoroughly enjoying Quidditch training. Though Rangi made sure they worked hard, their training was never boring and the excitement of making the Gryffindor team was still burning bright.

"Go away, Al. I'm looking for Blue and Alex." James snapped.

_"What's up with him?"_ Thought Albus, heading into the Great Hall after Philip, Rangi and Molly.

Albus had been on the Quidditch team for two weeks now and Philip had kept training with the team too. Albus was really getting used to playing Beater on a real team. Molly was amazing and though she was still as grumpy as ever she was giving Albus a lot of help with his hitting. He was already getting excited about is first inter-house match in November.

"Albus! Philip! There you are!" Called Rose from over at the Gryffindor table.

Albus went over and sat down opposite her,

"What?"

"It's all settled. I'm going on the Beauxbatons exchange!" She told them gleefully, "My parents have agreed, I applied and I've got a place."

"Oh." Albus said helping himself to some bread roll from the table.

"Congratulations Rose!" Smiled Philip.

"Thanks! I'm so excited." Rose grinned, "Artemis is coming too but nobody else from our year."

Albus felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't be happy for her. He didn't understand why she even wanted to go on this trip.

Albus ate fast as Philip and Rose began chatting with Rangi.

"I'm going to head up to the common room. Got some homework I want to get done." Albus said quickly. He didn't feel like sitting around talking.

"I'll come with you." Rose said suddenly, "We'll meet you up there later." She added to Philip who nodded and continued talking to his brother.

Albus didn't catch her eye, he knew he still hadn't congratulated her and felt self-conscious.

"You know, you could at least pretend to be happy for me." Rose said gently as they left the hall.

Albus had expected her to be mad at him for his rudeness.

"I know," He said quietly without looking up, "It's just… I'll miss you, you know."

He caught her eye and she looked at him sadly.

"I know." She said and he relaxed slightly.

It wasn't easy admitting to Rose how he felt, he felt childish saying it out loud.

"I'll miss you too, Al, I've become so used to being here with you and Philip and Amanda and _everyone_ but I need to do this for me. I know you don't see the point but I want to go and learn things and be independent, I want a chance to try something by myself." Rose told him desperately, "All my life I've always been surrounded by our family and I want this opportunity to go and do something completely unaided and unprotected."

"Okay." Albus said sadly, "It just won't be the same, not seeing you every day."

"I'll write to you." She told him softly, "All the time."

He smiled at her, "Okay."

"You better write back." Rose added sternly.

"Okay."

"So you'll be okay?"

"Just don't go off and forget all about me." Albus said smiling.

Rose grinned back, "Thanks, Al."

They had reached the common room now. Albus felt a lot better now, like a weight had lifted off his chest. He knew now that Rose was going to leave but at least he knew she knew how he felt and she'd write to him. It was stupid and childish but all his life, himself and Rose had been close friends and since coming to Hogwarts he was used to having her around. The idea of Hogwarts without her was strange.

"Congratulations." He said quietly.

Rose beamed and hugged him quickly before leaving for her dormitory. Albus headed up the spiral staircase to the boys' dorms. He really did have a lot of homework to do and he better get used to doing it alone now that Rose wouldn't be round to check his answers.

* * *

**Hi everyone. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review as I really value your opinion! I was hoping to be up to the Halloween chapter by now to tie in with... well... Halloween but as I am notoriously behind, I'm afraid it will be late.**

**ASG**


	14. Palmistry

**Chapter 14**

**Palmistry**

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

James was sitting at breakfast next to Rangi who was bluntly refusing him more information on the gambling club. Their conversation had been going along for a long time now without much progress.

"Please?"

Rangi sighed, putting down the butter knife and giving him an exasperated look, "I'm not telling you any more James and that's final!"

"Any more what?" Interrupted a curious voice.

"Go away Al." James told his brother grumpily.

"Why?"

"I said leave me alone Al! Go eat with Rose, it's her last day!" James snapped.

"Fine, I was just leaving." His younger brother said sulkily walking away.

"See, I'm great at not telling the younger people." James pointed out hopefully.

Rangi rolled his eyes, "I've got class."

"No you don't. You have a free period." James pointed out.

"I know…" Rangi said sadly, "I'm going to the common room and sitting with Molly. That way you might leave me alone."

"Molly has Transfiguration." James said smartly.

"Nothing ever goes my way!" Groaned Rangi.

James grinned, "I dunno, I'd love to have a free period every now and again! I have Divination now."

Rangi smiled, "You'll live."

"Not so sure." James said, pulling a face, "The way Trelawney goes on you'd swear I was about to drop dead at any moment."

Rangi laughed, "I'll talk to you later James."

James watched him leave and sighed, he'd really hoped Rangi might tell him something more about the club. Alex plonked himself down on his right,

"Well?" He asked.

"Nothing." James said sadly, "Rangi thinks he's said enough already. You know he doesn't want to be the one to bring it down."

"Neither do we." Alex pointed out, "Anyway, how could he?"

James gave his friend a knowing look, Rangi was more than likely to say something that would later get him into trouble.

"Okay… But you know what I mean. All we need's a little hint! It's been ages and we still don't know anything!" Alex admitted.

"I know. Where's Blue?" James asked changing the subject. For the past month he'd been trying to find out more about the club and so far he'd had no luck.

"Over there with 'Tetia. They're wishing Rose luck." Alex said pointing down the table to where Rose, Albus, Philip, Blue and Letitia were gathered.

Blue hurried over soon after and they left for class.

* * *

"James okay?" Philip asked Albus as they watched Blue, James and Alex leaving the hall.

Albus shrugged, "Just a bit grumpy. You know James."

Albus was perfectly used to his brother's moods and was perfectly used to James taking them out on him. He had to admit he was curious though. Last year James had been moody most of the year and Albus had known he was up to something. So far this year he hadn't been too bad but now it looked like he was up to something again and he didn't want Albus snooping around.

"You know Rose, you never told us about what happened last year." Philip pointed out.

Rose looked up but looked straight down again, "You know I promised I wouldn't."

"You won't even tell _us_? We're your best friends!" Philip protested.

"I promised."

Albus shook his head. Rose never would break a promise. Usually this was a good thing as she was usually on his side but now it was thoroughly annoying.

"I just want to know if it's finished business or if he's still up to stuff." Albus said reasonably.

"It's finished. It was just something stupid and it's over now." Rose said looking him the eye.

Albus didn't question her further, Rose was a terrible liar and he knew she wouldn't say more anyway.

"You know what I will tell you though." Rose said confidently.

"What?"

"You know those plants we won in Herbology last year? I found out what they are." Rose smiled.

"Yeah?" Philip asked glancing at Albus.

Philip and Rose had each won a mystery plant from Professor Longbottom last year for their Herbology project. Philip and Albus had actually been quite disappointed with the prize. It didn't seem to possess any magical properties and so far they had been taking pretty bad care of it. In fact they had forgotten about it and left it in their dormitory all summer. Luckily, it appeared one of the school's many house-elves was tending it because it still seemed to be in perfect condition.

"Its called _Razkovniche_." Rose continued, "It's a herb, sometimes used in potion making, it grows wild in parts of Eastern Europe. It's incredibly difficult to identify so it's quite valuable really."

"Can we sell it?" Philip asked eagerly.

Rose gave him a stern look, "Really Philip? Professor Longbottom didn't give them to us so we could sell it on the black market!"

"I didn't say anything about the black market." Grumbled Philip, "I just meant around here."

Rose rolled her eyes.

"So what does it do?" Albus asked changing the subject.

"It's used to unlock things." Rose said quickly.

"What things?" Albus asked her frowning.

Rose shrugged, "I don't know. The book didn't say."

"So this is what you've been doing with your last few days at Hogwarts?" Albus asked shaking his head, "Walled up in the library."

"Well, you were both at training!" Rose said defensively, this was true, Philip and Albus had been at Quidditch training a lot lately, "And please, let's not talk about later, I'm nervous enough as it is!"

"Why? You don't start in Beauxbatons for next week." Philip pointed out.

"Yeah but I'm nervous anyway. I mean, I'm excited to be going but it's going to be so strange and different and far away." Rose said twisting her hands in her lap.

"You'll be fine Rose. We're only an owl away." Albus said gently, he wanted to make up for his earlier discouragement. Rose smiled at him gratefully.

"We're late." Philip said suddenly and Albus looked up to see the almost empty hall around him.

They all stood up quickly,

"We'd better run!" Albus said as he swung his bag onto his shoulder and the three second years legged-it out of the hall.

* * *

"Today class, we'll be starting palmistry." Trelawney said airily as James stared out the window at the misty horizon, "You'll find all you need to know on pages thirty to thirty-five of your text book."

Absent-mindedly James turned the pages of his already battered book, this class was so pointless. He could be doing anything he wanted right now. Trying to get into the gambling club, trying to figure out what that statue did, even helping Rangi with his Quidditch tactics.

He sighed and Alex poked him in the arm, hard.

"We have to pair up." He said.

James yawned, "Okay. Whatever."

"Hold out your hand." Alex instructed and James lazily extended his arm, palm up.

"Hmm… let's see." Alex said frowning as he examined James palm.

"Well, how does my fortune look today?" James muttered under his breath.

The truth was that Alex was really good at this class, annoyingly good. This meant that James didn't even have Alex to mess and laugh with through their classes anymore. It also meant he had to sit back and listen to Trelawney and Alex solemnly discussing the prominent death omens that kept cropping up in his tea leaves and crystal balls.

James knew that Alex knew this annoyed him and as soon as they left the classroom, Alex would joke about it but whilst in class, Alex appeared to take it entirely seriously.

"Woah, James! You have a really short life line…" Alex said looking up at him in shock.

James glared at him and pulled his hand back. He didn't believe in palmistry but he still found it offensive when Alex said this, especially when he looked at him with that real fear in his eyes.

"Oh come on Alex! You don't really believe this stuff!" James snapped.

Alex shrugged but didn't reply.

"Listen Alex, I promise I'm not about to drop dead on you, okay?" He added rolling his eyes.

Alex grinned at him and everything went back to normal.

Alex promptly read the palms of the other students at their table and then Trelawney came over and started praising him on his work. James went back to staring out the window.

Later, he caught himself peering at his hands but then stopped immediately and began poking a spider that had scuttled over with his wand trying to make it change colour.

"James Potter, if you could pay just a little attention!" Trelawney said suddenly, James looked up guiltily.

Trelawney glared at him looking offended at his lack of interest. The spider scuttled away, still as dark as ever.

"You know, if I were you Mr Potter, I would pay a bit more attention in this class. If you had seen what I have in my meditations I'm sure you would stop treating this class like a joke. I'm afraid I have seen terrible things in store for you." Trelawney continued as James openly yawned, Alex glanced at him nervously and James knew he was thinking about James's short lifeline.

"What have you seen?" Squeaked one girl nervously.

"Most terrible things!" Trelawney said dramatically completely in her element, "I'm afraid I find it difficult to talk about it!"

James could see tears sparkling in her eyes as she looked away from him tragically.

"What is it?" Asked Owen from the table next to James looking terrified.

Trelawney looked back looking almost frightened, "I'm afraid, I have seen death in your future James Potter!"

The class gasped, James turned away grumpily, he hated them staring at him with that pitying look.

"If you don't understand the future James, how can you hope to change it?" Trelawney added as the bell for the end of class sounded in the distance.

James shoved his books into his bag and was first down the ladder, out of the tower room.

* * *

**Hi everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review. Also, I have a new poll on my profile page for everyone's favourite character in 'The Serpent's Tongue' so please vote! I love seeing what you all think!**

**A huge shout-out to blitzer99 - "Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and good luck with your new story!"**


	15. Where Rangi Goes

**Sorry this is so late! Hope you enjoy it! Please tell me what you think! Also I haven't got many votes on that new poll on my profile, it's just for fun and I'd love to get the feedback so if you can spare a second!**

**Chapter 15**

**Where Rangi Goes**

James was very grumpy at dinner. He speared each of his carrots violently, his fork clinking on the plate.

"Divination went well then?" Blue asked sarcastically observing James with raised eyebrows.

"Just more of Trelawney's nonsense." James grumbled.

He only half meant it. Obviously he didn't take Divination seriously in general but somehow palmistry was different. Tea-leaves and crystal-gazing was one thing but Palmistry, well it was something more tangible. Your palm was part of you. If anything could tell your future, it was your hand, right?

"What did she say this time?" Blue asked as Alex glanced at James nervously.

James didn't answer.

"Trelawney said he had _'death'_ in his future." Alex replied pulling a face.

"You said it first though! _'You have a really short life line…'_, remember?" James said glaring at him.

"Sorry… You know I don't believe any of that stuff James." Alex said awkwardly.

"Wouldn't mind you standing up for me every once in a while though." James grumbled spearing another carrot, "Or at least don't encourage her."

"That's just silly though!" Blue interrupted them, James looked up in surprise, "I mean what Trelawney said. Seriously? Everyone's going to die eventually! You could say anyone's got _'death'_ in their future!"

James stared at him open-mouthed; he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of that. He immediately felt incredibly stupid. Alex looked stunned too.

"Honestly, Divination really is a pointless subject." Blue said returning to his dinner shaking his head.

James shut his mouth. He ate in silence for a while, listening to Alex ramble on about some radio show he'd been listening to. Then, they came to the subject James had been hoping to avoid.

"First Hogsmeade trip is on Halloween!" Alex said cheerfully, then glanced at James as if he'd forgotten he was there.

The subject of James's Hogsmeade privileges was a sensitive one. James had been the only one to have them taken away at the end of last year and though James knew he had been in more trouble over the year than Blue and Alex it still seemed unfair.

"Don't worry James, we won't be too long and we'll get you loads of sweets from Honeydukes and whatever else you want." Blue assured him.

"Yeah, okay, whatever." James replied unenthusiastically.

"What are you going to do while we're gone?" Alex asked.

James shrugged, then he thought of something, "Maybe I'll look into this club-thing some more! I know Rangi won't tell us anymore but maybe I'll try talking to Coolio McLaggen."

"He'll probably be in Hogsmeade too." Blue pointed anxiously.

"Oh yeah…" James said miserably, he was back to nothing.

"Look! There he is! We could try talking to him now?" Alex suggested.

"Okay." James replied, it was probably better this way anyway. He didn't know McLaggen very well and didn't fancy talking to him alone, "Let's wait till he's finished eating though. We can't just go over to the Hufflepuffs' table and start talking about the club. It's meant to be a secret."

"Right." Nodded Alex.

"What's a secret?"

James groaned, "Nothing Albus! What do you want?"

His younger brother stared back at him innocently, "Nothing."

Albus and Philip sat down and began to eat.

"Did you see Rose off?" Blue asked the second years.

Albus nodded, "We just got back. You should have come, James."

"I hardly think Rose would've wanted me there to see her off." James scoffed, "Anyway, I said goodbye this earlier when I put that fake fly in her soup!"

Alex laughed and Albus rolled his eyes.

"Hey look, McLaggen's leaving! Let's go talk to him!" Alex said suddenly, pointing across the room.

"Why do you want to talk to McLaggen?" Albus asked as James jumped to his feet.

"None of your business. Quick, let's go or we'll miss him!"

Coolio was one of those people with a ridiculous nickname that everyone had grown so used to it they didn't even think it was odd any more. James was pretty sure that the name 'Coolio' had started out as a bit of a joke but now, few students even knew his real name and those who did barely remembered it.

Coolio was probably the most popular guy in the school. It seemed he knew everybody and everybody liked him. To James's disappointment, he was currently accompanied by his best friend Carlisle Lawless also known as _'Knuckles'_.

Lawless was just as well-known as Coolio though not nearly as well-liked. A tall, strong, dark-skinned boy often seen standing around cracking his knuckles, he had earned his nickname for beating up a sixth year at age twelve. According to school legend, the sixth year had thoroughly deserved it but hadn't realized what he was getting into when he picked on young Lawless but James was doubtful. After all, it was the winners who wrote history.

James and Alex grabbed the opportunity when Lawless turned to talk to a pretty fifth year girl and hurriedly approached Coolio in the Entrance Hall.

"Hey, Coolio. I heard you can help get us get into the gambling club?" James said cutting straight to the point.

Coolio looked at him in surprise, "James Potter, right?" He frowned.

James nodded.

"You get that you're not meant to talk about that in public right?" Coolio asked glancing over his shoulder at Lawless.

"Sorry, I know - but I heard you could help us." James continued quickly.

"Maybe… but I don't go handing out favours for free, you know." Coolio told him.

"We just need you to help one of us get in and then we can swap around recommendation. Like you did for Freddy." James told the older boy.

"What can you do for me?" Collio asked raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"Eh… What do you need?" James asked nervously as he noticed Lawless turning back towards them.

"Make an offer? This is a barter system." Coolio informed him.

James thought hard, "My uncle owns Weasley Wizarding Wheeses. I could get you some cool stuff. Or a discount."

Coolio laughed, "Sorry Potter, I made the exact same deal with Freddy. I've got all the Weasley Wizarding Wheeses products I could ever need. I don't think there's anything I can do to help at the moment anyway."

Lawless had joined them now, "What's going on here?"

"Nothing Knuckles. Let's go. Good luck Potter." Coolio said with a wave as Knuckles eyed them suspiciously.

James gave a half-hearted wave as they departed,

"Well that could have gone better." He sighed.

"Could have gone worse too…" Alex grimaced, "Knuckles was eyeing us like a slab of meat."

* * *

Halloween came and James found himself waving goodbye to Blue and Alex as they hurried out into the light rain. He knew he could always have snuck out too using a secret passage but with all the trouble he was already in, it didn't seem worth it. Anyway, it was just Hogsmeade.

James headed back to the common room, maybe he'd see who else wasn't going to Hogsmeade. If worse came to the worst he could always talk to Albus. Recently, his younger brother had been getting on his nerves more and more. Every time he tried to talk about anything secret, Albus seemed to turn up asking questions. He also knew that Albus was still curious about what happened last year but at least he could trust Rose not to break her promise. That was his problem, Albus was just too curious. He was _always_ asking questions.

James sighed. With Rose gone, Albus had been hanging around James and his friends more and more and James was sick of it. He didn't want to pick a fight but he he couldn't talk about anything in front of Albus.

He was approaching the portrait hole when Rangi emerged in a hurry. He didn't see James and headed in the other direction. James was about to call out to him and ask if he was going to Hogsmeade when a sudden thought made him pause. If Rangi wasn't going to Hogsmeade, where was he going?

The Gambling Club. That's where.

James had tried finding out its location but so far to no avail. Now he was presented with the perfect opportunity, he had never even considered it before. He would simply follow Rangi and he would lead him straight to its entrance.

He slipped quietly after Rangi, following quickly but carefully so as not to make any noise. He followed the Quidditch captain up several flights of stairs until finally he found himself on the seventh floor. He kept a safe distance behind Rangi but made sure not to lose him in the winding corridors.

Rangi disappeared around a corner and James hurried to catch up. Rounding the corner quickly, he found himself suddenly pinned against the cold stone wall, a wand pressed to his throat. He didn't even have time to cry out in shock.

"James!" Exclaimed Rangi loosening his grip, "What are you doing here."

He let go completely and James gasped for breath and rubbed his neck.

"You know, you'll have to do better than that if you want to follow me!" Grinned Rangi, then he stopped, "Why were you following me anyway?"

"I thought you might go to the Gambling Club." Admitted James, leaning against the wall as he regained a normal heart pace.

Rangi laughed, "Oh, sorry to disappoint. I've got other things planned for today. Come here, I want to show you something."

James followed to a blank stretch of wall and watched in bewilderment as Rangi paced up and down three times. Then to James's amazement a large door appeared in the previously blank space. Strange things often happened in Hogwarts but James had never witnessed this before, or even heard of such a thing happening. Rangi shot him a quick grin then turned and pushed open the door,

"Welcome James," He announced proudly, "To my gym!"

James stared around the magical room. It was decked out just like a highly modern, muggle gym. Bright windows, James had never seen from outside the castle, let in streams of bright sunshine which lit up exercise machines, basketball hoops, Quidditch gear, posters of sports team, magic and muggle alike and panting away on one of the treadmills, Rangi's friend Oswin.

_"It's raining outside..."_ James thought dimly.

"Well, what do you think?" Asked Rangi turning to face him proudly.

"... Wow..." Was all James could manage.

"This James is the legendary Room of Requirement. Or so I am assuming. I mean, I've only ever heard of one room with these qualities... not that it matters what its called anyway..." The captain rambled as James wandered amongst the gym equipment.

"How did you find this place?" James asked in awe.

"Ah," Rangi said with an air of reminiscing as he followed James over and place, one hand on his shoulder, "Like so many before me - I was looking for a bathroom."

James grinned and continued admiring the shiny equipment.

"But this is all muggle stuff?" He frowned suddenly, "Surely it shouldn't work here."

He must have heard his Aunt Hermione saying dozens of times that muggle technology didn't work at Hogwarts.

"I had to remodel it myself, everything you see here, runs on magic." Rangi told him.

James couldn't believe that this was the same guy who was failing much of his schoolwork.

"I got the idea from the Gambling Club actually. They have slot machines and all kinds of things there reworked to run on magic, it really works quite well." Rangi continued, admiring his on work.

James walked over to the treadmill, "Hi Oswin." He said to Rangi's panting friend.

"Hi... James... Good to... see you..." Panted Oswin breathlessly.

"Um, why are you making him run?" James asked turning back to Rangi.

"I need him to be faster for my next big plan! Otherwise, he could get eaten by a bear!" Enthused Rangi.

James felt it safer not to ask.

"Come on Os, only four more kilometers to go!" Smiled Rangi cheerfully.

Oswin clearly didn't have the breath left to reply but the pain on his face was evident. James moved away quickly to allow him to perspire in peace.

"So, why didn't you go to Hogsmeade?" James asked casually peering at a basketball.

Rangi laughed heartily, "Oh I haven't been to Hogsmeade it a while! Thought you could have guessed I would be banned."

"And you don't mind?"

Rangi shook his head, "Why should I, look what I have here. They don't have this in Hogsmeade."

James looked around again.

"Here! Let me show you how to play basketball!" Rangi said stealing the ball off James, "You know, Os, I was joking about those four kilometers! Come join us over here."

James laughed and tried to snatch the ball back out of Rangi's grip but the captain spun away from him bouncing the ball and grinning like a maniac.

"See if the two of you together can so much as score against me!" Rangi laughed as the whirr of the treadmill stopped and Oswin stepped off sighing.

"Watch and learn James," Rangi continued, "Watch and learn!"

* * *

**Earlier this month I celebrated being on fanfiction for 2 YEARS! Can't believe how time has flown. I'd love to hear from anyone who has been reading from the start!** **Anyway, just wanted share that with you all.**

**Thanks for reading! ASG**


	16. The Anti-Slytherin League

**Chapter 16**

**The Anti-Slytherin League**

James spent the entire day playing basketball with Rangi and Oswin in the Room of Requirement and had to rush back to the Great Hall to avoid missing the feast.

He was hailed as he entered the Great Hall by his cousin Fred who was sitting at Gryffindor table with Paddy, Benito, Molly, Albus, Philip and surprisingly, Dmitri. He sat down between Albus and Fred, opposite Molly and a slightly teary looking Dmitriy.

"How come he has too do that and make me look so stupid!" Dmitriy was whining.

"Why do you care?" Scolded Molly, "Everyone knows you're ten times smarter that Will Dursley."

"Uh-oh. What's all this about?" James hissed at Fred.

"Will's been picking on Dmitriy again." Fred explained quietly.

"_Again_?" James frowned.

"Happens 'bout once a week." Fred said rolling his eyes, "It's harmless stuff but let's face it Will's not big on maturity and Dmitriy can be a little… sensitive."

"But everybody laughed at me Molly!" Dmitriy said, his bottom lip wobbling.

"Get over it Will, nobody will care by tomorrow." Molly told him harshly.

"But-"

"No Dmitriy! You're being ridiculous. Now go sit at Ravenclaw table. They're missing you over there." Molly snapped, then added in a softer voice, "And you know, Dmitriy, if he keeps bothering you I could always ask Rangi to pay him a visit. Maybe I'll even do it myself."

"_Molly_!" Cried Dmitriy, "You know that's not what I meant!"

"Then why're you coming to me?" She demanded but she had a grin on her face.

Fred and James laughed, even Dmitriy cracked a grin before heading over to the Ravenclaw table.

"Will's really got to get his act together." Sighed Fred.

James agreed but he didn't want to go there again.

"Have you seen Blue and Alex? They're very late." James said frowning.

"Look here they come now. Just in time too, the feast's about to begin." Fred said motioning toward the doors.

James turned and looked and sure enough, Blue and Alex were on their way in, looking a very sorry state indeed. Alex was covered in patchy blood and dabbing his face with a wad of tissues. Blue was carrying a number of bags and looked annoyed.

"What in the name of Merlin happened to you?" James demanded as he made room for his friends at the table.

"_Tybalt Tyne_ happened to me!" Alex spat, "I'm telling you James, he is mad as a- well I don't even know what!"

Blue dumped the bags at their feet as they both flopped down on the bench.

"We were in the Three Broomsticks see," Began Alex, "And I saw all these Slytherins grouped together in a corner. So I went over and asked Tyne what they were all up to - and he sends me straight through a window!"

James stared at Alex open-mouthed, this was shocking even for Tybalt.

"Madam Rosmerta was furious, she fixed the glass in a second but she kicked all the Slytherins out and then Hagrid came and helped us back to the castle."

"Madam Cogas was able to stop the bleeding for the most part but well, as you can see, Alex's still all cut up." Blue informed him.

"This cut on my face just won't stop bleeding." Muttered Alex furiously, showing James the gash on his cheek.

James winced, it looked pretty bad.

"we're gonna have to get him back for this one, James." Alex growled.

"But what were they talking about?" Albus asked from James's other side.

"Beats me." Grumbled Alex.

"Must be Quidditch stuff." James volunteered.

"Is Tybalt on the team then?" Blue asked, "I expected him to come around bragging if he made it."

James shrugged, "Must be."

"If you ask me, things over at Slytherin seem way to quiet at the moment." Alex muttered, dabbing tentatively at his face again.

James scoffed, "Tybalt Tyne just threw you out a window and you think he's being quiet?"

"Yeah because I was trying to hear what they were talking about!" Alex protested, "And he didn't throw me, he hexed me!"

"Same thing." James said vaguely.

"So do you think the the Slytherins are up to something then?" Albus asked frowning.

"Like I said, it was probably Quidditch stuff and they didn't want Alex to hear." Dismissed James with a wave of his hand, "I bet Tybalt's a reserve or something. That's why he's in on the meetings but he hasn't come bragging."

"Yeah well he won't be fit for flying when I get my hands on him!" Snarled Alex grinding one fist into another.

At that moment, Professor McGonagall stood up to talk and everyone, including Alex, fell silent. It was time for the feast to begin.

* * *

Without Rose, life at Hogwarts seemed to become more and more dull. Albus thought after his crazy year last year he would be glad for some peace and quiet but constantly found himself with nothing to do. Sure, there was the Quidditch match coming up soon and he was practicing almost daily now and of course there was still plenty of schoolwork and homework but between everything there were long spaces of boredom.

Himself and Philip were quickly running out of fresh conversation and Albus felt himself longing to escape the castle even just briefly, for a change of scene. He kept reminding himself that next year there would be Hogsmeade trips and he would get to explore the village - all he had to do was stay out of trouble so that he wouldn't end up like James.

Since seeing Lysander Flint and Tybalt Tyne at the Owlery, Albus had noticed a few more odd things happening within Slytherin house. He couldn't explain it but somehow the atmosphere was different. Little things kept changing, things most people wouldn't even notice, like who sat with whom and groups of friends changing or mixing. Certainly he had noticed less trouble from the Slytherins this year compared to his last but somehow this just set his teeth on edge.

During their long spells with nothing to do, Albus and Philip had discussed this briefly. Usually, in the lead up to the Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch match there was trouble between the two houses but, though tensions were definitely emerging, there had been no outright hostility yet.

Rose had kept her word and was sending regular letters with news. So far she had arrived in France, travelled to Beauxbatons and started school there following midterm. She said the students were all really friendly, the classes were a little different but that she was getting the hang of it and that her French was already improving.

Albus was happy for her, it sounded like she was really enjoying herself but it didn't stop him from missing her. It reminded him of when he first started Hogwarts and had to leave his little sister Lily at home alone. It was strange being away but it got easier after a while - and he would be seeing everyone again at Christmas after all.

Talk turned to the Slytherins again as himself and Philip ate dinner in the Gryffindor table one Monday evening. Albus didn't know if it was out of sheer boredom that they'd started taking an interest but they didn't have much else to talk about.

"Do you think they see Flint as some kind of leader over there in Slytherin?" Philip asked Albus as they departed the Great Hall one evening.

Albus peered over to where a group had formed around Lysander, "I guess a little bit. He is a Quidditch Captain, that makes him pretty respected and I guess it means he represents Slytherin. I wouldn't pick him as my leader but that's another kettle of plimpy."

Philip shrugged.

They reached the common room quickly by taking a few shortcuts.

"It still seems odd, doesn't it? Flint's sudden popularity." Philip frowned as they climbed through the portrait hole.

"Yeah, I guess." Albus replied.

"I can't help but thinking that's not good news for us if Flint's suddenly got all the Slytherins under his command." Philip continued pulling a face.

"You mean you've noticed too!" Came a loud voice from beside Albus, he turned to see Rangi, "I knew things in Slytherin seemed a little too quiet this week! Flint is up to something and we've got to find out what!"

"Eh Rangi... don't you think that you're jumping to conclusions there..." Philip said nervously, "It's probably just something to do with the Quidditch match."

"You mean you think it might be something bigger than the Quidditch match?" Rangi asked in amazement and Philip immediately looked like he regretted ever opening his mouth, "Merlin! I bet you're right!"

"Don't go doing anything crazy, Rangi." Warned Philip.

"Don't be silly, Philip!" Scoffed Rangi, "I'd never do anything without making a plan first."

Philip gave Albus an exasperated look.

"I hereby declare this the first meeting of the Anti-Slytherin League!" Rangi declared importantly.

"Oh no." Muttered Philip.

"We shall hold a meeting at breakfast tomorrow!"

"Rangi..."

"Albus you shall be our _Quaestor_, Philip, our Administrator,"

"Please..."

"I'm in charge of course. _We meet at dawn_!"

"Stop..."

"Or almost... I'm probably not going to be awake at dawn."

"This..."

"Right, best be off! See you tomorrow!"

And with that, he was off, out of the common room and down the corridor beyond.

"Madness." Sighed Philip fruitlessly.

Albus watched his friend sag with displeasure. He shook his head pathetically. There was just no stopping Rangi when he got like this and Albus knew it. They sat down by the bright fireplace and took out their homework.

"What in the name of Merlin is a '_Quaestar_' anyway?" Albus asked.

"It's a treasurer, in ancient Rome or something." Philip replied cracking a small smile.

"Ah..." Albus mused, "Of course it is."

* * *

**Oh the nonsense of Rangi Pai... Please tell me what you think! Reviews most welcome!**


	17. The Truth Behind Leopold Rankin

**Chapter 17**

**The Truth Behind Leopold Rankin**

"Post is here." Philip said pointing up, "Looks like there's something for you."

Albus was sitting at the Gryffindor table eating breakfast. He looked up just as a speckled grey owl perched on the milk jug in front of him. He stretched out a hand and removed the letter that was tied to it's leg. As soon as he had, it took off again. Albus recognised the postal stamp and knew immediately it was from Rose.

"Rose." He told Philip ripping it open quickly. He read it quickly, scanning through her neat handwriting.

"How is she?" Asked Philip peering over his shoulder.

"Good. She's enjoying it. Says the classes are hard but her French is getting much better. They're studying Witch Huntings in the sixteen hundreds- we don't even start that until the end of this year." Albus said glancing at Philip, "_'Fascinating'_, apparently."

"Sounds like it's going well." Philip mused.

Albus nodded, "She says she's meeting loads of new people and making new friends. Oh and that she hopes we're keeping up with our homework." He finished, rolling his eyes.

Philip scoffed just as Amanda approached them from the other side of the table.

"Oh, did you get a letter from Rose?" She asked tucking her hair behind her ear and spotting Albus's letter.

"Yep." He replied stowing the letter carefully in a pocket of his robes.

"I got one over the weekend. Sounds like she really likes it over there." Amanda informed them, "I'm really happy for her. I do miss her though."

Albus nodded, he missed Rose too. He was especially disappointed that she wouldn't be there to see his first Quidditch match which was due to be played that Saturday.

"Are you finished? We should get to class." Amanda asked.

"Weren't we ment to meet Rangi?" Albus frowned at Philip, "He said he wanted to talk to us at breakfast."

"Oh yeah." Philip said the memory visibly dawning on his face, "He's very late."

"PHILIP, AL!"

"Here he is." Philip sighed as a voice rang across the hall, "You go on ahead, we'll catch up. He can't keep us that long."

Amanda waved and left just as Rangi collapsed onto a bench opposite them, gasping from running.

"Sorry I'm late." Rangi said exhaustedly.

Albus eyed him skeptically.

"It was unavoidable. I got into a bit of a fight." Rangi explained pointing out a cut lip.

"With a Slytherin?" Albus asked, his interest peeking.

"No. With a stray pixie." Rangi explained helping himself to some of the remaining toast, "-No idea what it was doing in the castle. Must've been somebody's pet... Anyway, on with the meeting."

Albus could not for the life of him imagine what anybody would want with a pet pixie.

"Rangi, we're already almost late. We've got to get to class." Philip said glancing at his watch worriedly.

"We'll make it quick then."

"Rangi. We _really_ have to go!" Philip insisted standing up.

"But-"

"You have class to you know."

"No I don't."

"You do."

"Nope. That's the beauty of getting so few OWLs." Rangi said, this time directly to Albus.

"No, you really _do_ have class." Philip insisted again, "It's sixth year Potions now. You take Potions!"

"Huh?" Rangi said suddenly confused.

"It's Tuesday. You have Potions now." Philip explained slowly.

"Oh no!" Rangi said with sudden realisation overcoming his features, "If I'm late again, I'll have detention!"

Rangi jumped up with such haste, he knocked over the milk jug the owl had been perched on an sprinted away. Philip and Alus quickly followed suite, leaving the Great Hall as fast as they could.

* * *

"Are you sure your grandfather is well?" Trelawney asked a terrified Owen as James sat in Divination.

"My grandfather is dead..." Owen said nervously glancing at Alex and James from the other side of their table.

"Yes but does he rest peacefully, my child?" Trelawney continued.

James groaned loudly as Owen stared at James around Trelawney's sticky figure.

"Alexander!" Trelawney exclaimed in delight spotting her favourite student carefully drawing out and labelling a diagran of a hand and all it's lines, "This is the most wonderful diagram I have seen in years - look class, this is how you should be drawing the hand, nice and big and clear."

Alex beamed proudly at his work.

"How did you get the shape so well-proportioned?" Trelawney asked him admiringly.

"I just traced around my own hand." Alex explained.

"What an excellent idea!" Trelawney thrilled, "Everyone start again, this time draw around your hands like Alex did!"

James looked at his sketchy drawing with distaste and crumpled it into a ball as Trelawney waltzed away.

"I hate this class." He grumbled to Owen.

"Me too. Did you hear what she said about my Granddad?" Owen said looking upset.

"Come off it Owen, she just makes it all up, the ol' bat." James muttered in a low voice.

Alex shot him a dirty look, "You just say that because you're no good at Divination."

"You just say _that_ 'cause you like sucking up!" James hissed angrily.

Alex looked hurt and James immediately regretted what he had said. He knew Alex was just proud to finally have found a subject he was good at without even trying, but all the same, James had always thought they were the same. Blue was the smart one. Himself and Alex were the messers who didn't care. Alex ignored the comment, James knew he wasn't going to keep a grudge against him.

Class ended and the class hurriedly packed their schoolbags.

"And don't forget," Trelawney called to them, "Someone in this class will lose something precious to them on Saturday the seventeenth of December!"

James frowned, "The seventeenth of December isn't a Saturday."

He knew this because this Saturday was the seventeenth. It was the day of his first Quidditch match this year and he was sure the seventeenth of December couldn't possibly be a Saturday too.

"She never said it would happen this year." Alex pointed out wisely.

James rolled his eyes but not in front of Alex.

They got separated in the crowds as their class was swallowed by the rest of the students in the corridors below. James kept going, he would see Alex again at dinner time. He walked quickly and didn't stop until he heard his name being called.

"Hey James."

James turned and spotted Rangi Pai behind him in the crowded corridor.

"Four days until the big game!" Rangi enthused catching up with him, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." James replied eyeing Rangi suspiciously.

"And the Slytherins haven't been making threats or pushing you about or anything, right?" Rangi asked looking concerned.

"No. Everything has been perfectly quiet." James insisted, "Surprisingly so, in fact."

"Good, good." Rangi muttered. He looked unusually nervous. James knew it was the match that was getting to him.

"What class did you just have?" Rangi asked walking distractedly alongside James.

James's expression grew cold, "Divination..."

"I don't know why you complain about it, Divination's an easy subject." Rangi continued.

"I'm not so sure about that one. Trelawney seems to have it in for me." James groaned miserably.

"Oh don't mind her. Come on James, _I_ passed Divination!" Rangi insisted, "Just tell her exactly what she wants to hear!"

James looked at him skeptically as he continued.

"That swirl of blah looks like a bunny rabbit - the world is entering into a dangerous era." Rangi said in an airy voice, "Those tea-leaves look look like a tractor - beware the full moon! Things like that, Trelawney will just lap it up. Also you might want to tell her you're '_doomed_' a lot, she likes that."

"Is that how you passed?" James asked observing Rangi with surprise.

"Yep! She said I was very brave to except my ever-pending demise and now I'm one of her top students! It's great, I still don't even know how to read tea-leaves and I'm in sixth year." Rangi told him enthusiastically.

"So you just make it up?"

"Absolutely. Divination's a pretty sketching area of magic. I'm not saying there aren't those who can do it well but if you say something with confidence, no-one can really say you're lying. It's open to _interpretation_ if you like."

James was surprised he'd never thought of this before. He'd always been a fairly good liar. Faking his way through Divination couldn't be that hard.

"Listen, look after yourself." This was such an odd thing for Rangi to say that James questioned him.

Rangi sighed, "Look, rumour has it Flint- Professor Flint that is, wants doesn't want you up against Flint- _Lysander_ in the Gryffindor-Slytherin match on Saturday. I'm afraid he might try and sabotage you again. Just keep an eye out, okay?"

James raised his eyebrows, "He can't think I'm much of a threat. He's always telling me how crap at Flying I am in class."

"Only because he can see how good you are," Rangi warned him, "And if conditions stay like this, you'll have the advantage against Lysander. Keep that broom good and safe and James," Rangi looked at him pleadingly, "_try_ and stay out of harms way, just for one week."

Just then they were distracted as they passed Professor Flint's office. The sound of the Professor issued angrily out as the door swung open and Lysander hurried out.

"I'm warning you Lysander - I will uncover this underground organisation whether you help me or not!" Flint yelled as Lysander shut the door hurriedly behind him. He spotted James and Rangi and surveyed them haughtily with cold grey eyes.

"Yikes sounds like someone's in trouble." Rangi said merrily, "So Flint, why don't you just tell dear old dad where the Gambling club is?"

James's interest peaked. it seemed Professor Flint was trying to get the club shut down ('_- good luck with that'_) and Lysander knew where to find it.

"As if." Lysander said giving Rangi a withering look as he fell into step beside them, "My Dad may want to shut it down but I like that club."

"You're in the club?" James asked eagerly.

Lysander looked at him in disbelief, "Of course I'm in the club. I've got silver membership." He said proudly, "Anyone who's anyone is in the club, Potter, and _I'm_ a Quidditch Captain."

"You wouldn't have any recommendations to spare, would you?" James asked.

He knew there was as much chance of Lysander giving him a recommendation as there was of his Aunt Luna becoming Minister for Magic but there wasn't much harm in trying. Lysander didn't appear to be feeling particularly violent today anyway.

"Ha! Don't kid yourself Potter!" Lysander barked, "I just gave my last one to Tybalt and even if I had one I wouldn't give it to you in a million years!"

James had expected this and shrugged but Lysander continued,

"I wouldn't have thought you'd have much trouble getting in anyway seeing as your cousin's dating the leader."

"What?" James asked suddenly frowning. He looked up at Lysander who looked genuinely surprised at his reaction,

"Molly Weasley and Leopold Rankin."

James stopped walking, "Wait, _what_?"

Lysander glanced at Rangi as they both stopped too.

"I thought you'd know." Lysander said glancing between James and Rangi. James turned his stare to Rangi.

"Hey don't look at me!" Rangi protested holding his hands up in innocence, "Molly made me swear not to say anything."

"But they hate each other." James pointed out blatantly, still struggling with confusion.

"You'd think it," Replied Rangi as they all started walking again, "But it seems during that whole _'who's better'_ argument they had in the Great Hall, they did a pretty good job of convincing each other of how awesome they both are."

James struggled to take this all in.

"And after Molly found out it's Rankin who's running the gambling club I guess she decided he wasn't too 'goody-goody' after all." Rangi told him.

"Leopold Rankin runs the club?" James asked in amazement, "But he's just a ridiculous prick who thinks he's the best at everything."

"Yep but that '_prick_' happens to be the smartest guy in the school." Replied Lysander as Rangi muttered,

"Which makes him perfect for Molly." And shot a wicked grin at James.

"He gets the best grades," Lysander continued, "Or at least competes with Molly for the best grades in our year, Captains a Quidditch team, keeps a clean record as a Prefect and manages to run an underground gambling society right under the teachers' noses."

"Yeah and Rankin's not such a bad guy once you get to know him." Rangi informed James carelessly, "I mean, he acts pretty stuck up on the Quidditch field but he's actually cute and cuddly next to Molly!"

James laughed but in truth he was struggling to comprehend all these sudden revelations. Just over a year ago, James had thought Molly grumpy, austere and rule-abiding like her brothers, Dmitriy and Arthur or her father Percy. Now he had realised that as well as being a ruthless and talented Beater she also had a worse temper than Rose or possibly even his own and a fiery rebellious streak.

James thought of his Uncle sitting comfortably in his Ministry office thinking about how well-behaved and mannered his children were (except maybe Freddy) and nearly laughed aloud.

He suddenly appreciated how hard it would be to do all the reckless things he did and still appear to be the perfect child to his parents. He was beginning to see his cousin in a whole different light.

"Anyway Pai, I haven't seen you around the silver member lounge..." Lysander said smugly changing the subject back to the club.

"Yeah? Well, I've been busy." Rangi replied averting his hungry gaze.

"Pity. Right losers, I'm skipping lunch and I'm not going to be seen with the likes of you for any longer." Lysander said by way of farewell as he headed in the direction of the dungeons.

"Charming." James commented as Rangi raised his eyebrows.

They continued toward the Great Hall.

"You're not a Silver member of the Gambling club are you?" James asked looking at Rangi through the corner of his eyes.

"No." Rangi admitted wincing, "But if I was I would help you."

James smiled,

"You know you actually got through an entire conversation with Flint without punching him." He pointed out.

Rangi laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, "If myself and Lysander fought every time we saw each other we'd spend more time in the Hospital Wing than on the Quidditch pitch! It'd be impractical." He said sensibly.

James laughed.

"You know, I have the funniest feeling I've forgotten something..." Rangi said frowning.

James shrugged, he had no idea what Rangi was talking about but it wasn't unusual for Rangi to forget things.

"Oh!" Rangi said, his eyes lighting up as Albus and Philip and passed them in the doorway going in the other direction, "I remember now. Got to go!"

Rangi spun around and ran off, James just kept on going. He had spent so long talking to Rangi that now he wouldn't have long to eat before classes restarted.

* * *

**A/N: (Just to make things a little bit clearer) I have rated this story K+, there is likely to be some mild violence and what I would call mild language but I believe this to be a fair rating. But here is a warning now, if you are easily offended by bad language, this is my official apology. I don't believe I am using any language worse than what you would find in Harry Potter but if you do find anything I say upsetting please know I am sorry, I don't mean to be rude.**

**Review? :)**


	18. Strategy and Practice

**Chapter 18**

**Strategy and Practice**

"Wait up!"

Albus turned just as Rangi skidded to a halt several inches away from his nose. Alarmed, Albus looked up at taller boy.

"Sorry! Misjudged." Rangi apologised stepping backwards.

Albus glanced around him. Himself and Philip were on their way to class, lunch had just ended and they were in the entrance hall. A large group of Slytherins on their way from their Common Room to class had just emerged from the entrance to the dungeons.

"We need to have our Anti-Slytherin League meeting!" Exclaimed Rangi.

All around them the Slytherins turned to look at them. Albus's eyes opened wide in fear. Himself and Philip had both turned very red but Rangi seemed to be oblivious to the scene around him.

"Eh, Rangi now may not be the best time..." Hissed Philip.

"Oh? We'll make it quick shall we then." Rangi agreed.

"But we have class now!" Albus protested, avoiding the stares from the surrounding students.

"Won't be a minute." Rangi assured him taking out a notebook from his pocket, "So I assume you did all your homework. What did you find out?" Rangi asked, fixing Albus and Philip with a severe expression.

They exchanged a quick glance,

"Rangi..." Philip ventured apprehensively, "You didn't give us any homework."

"I didn't?" Rangi asked sounding genuinely confused, "But I had all these notes and theories I wanted you to read over."

Rangi started shuffling fervently in his school bag. Some of the more curious and annoyed Slytherins were still listening in suspiciously and Albus kept his gaze firmly on the floor. He heard James and his friends passing on their way to class.

"We really are quite late-" Philip tried again earnestly.

"GOT THEM!" Rangi straightened up and shuffled a bunch of papers into order.

Albus watched him uneasily, there was no telling what he might come out with.

Rangi frowned, "Wait a second..." He said in a low voice, "_This - _is my Potions essay!"

Albus sighed, he didn't know whether to be relieved or exasperated.

"In that case..." Rangi said slowly, looking like he was thinking really hard, "What did I hand in to Ebullio this morning?"

Philip gave a small groan, he looked like he was at his wits end. Albus could understand why.

"I better recover that and quickly! I don't want anyone to find out what we're up to." Rangi exclaimed, "I mean Ebullio's pretty sound but if any of the Slytherins were to hear about this-"

He spun around and sprinted down the Dungeon stairway. Albus and Philip turned to approach the main stairs. A small group of very unfriendly Slytherins surrounded them. Philip gave a nervous laugh, as if the whole encounter had been a joke. Albus didn't recognise any of the Slytherins but he had a feeling that he didn't want to get to know them.

"Keep your head down and keeping walking." He hissed in his friend's ear as they walked casually but very quickly from the Hall.

* * *

"You mean to say, this _whole_ time we've been trying to get into the club, Molly has been dating the very person who _runs_ it?" Blue asked James as they sat in Potions class only a short time after James's conversation with Rangi.

"Yep."

"And you heard all this from Flint?" Blue asked with raised eyebrows.

"I know! It's like everything is upside-down." James said running a hand through his already messy hair, "And there's more news, Tybalt's in."

Alex pulled a face, "Who'd let him in?"

"Lysander apparently." James said miserably, "I just can't believe he got in before we did."

Just then the door burst open and Rangi ran in, skidding to a halt right in front of a shocked Professor Ebullio, standing at his desk.

"Sorry - Professor - handed - in - wrong - homework!" Rangi gasped as the class giggled quietly.

"Ah yes, Raymond, isn't it. Very interesting work but not quite keeping with the essay title." Ebullio replied casually shuffling in his desk drawer for the work.

"Sorry, sir! Got the right work with me now." Rangi stated eagerly.

"Yes, yes." Ebullio said emerging with a roll of parchment, "All the same. Highly illuminating! Quidditch tactics I gather."

Rangi examined the parchment curiously, "So they are! You won't give me away to the enemy now will you?"

Ebullio chuckled, "No, no, no - your secrets are safe with me!"

Rangi grinned. He winked at James cheerfully as he departed the classroom and Ebullio began to prattle on again about mushrooms or toadstools or something.

"I'm surprised Tybalt hasn't come flaunting." Blue observed as their conversation restarted.

"I guess he doesn't want anyone to hear him talking about it, doesn't want to get in trouble." James reasoned.

"I reckon Quidditch must be taking up his extra energy." Alex said darkly, "I hear he's playing on Saturday."

James raised his eyebrows, this was the first he'd heard about it.

"Verbeck's taken ill and Tybalt's the reserve Beater." Alex informed them filling in the detail.

James winced.

"Is he actually any good?" Blue asked.

"Dunno." James admitted, "Never seen him play before. I've seen him flying in class but that's about it. I guess he must be to be on the team."

"He could have just wriggled his way on, you've seen how pally he's gotten with Lysander recently." Blue suggested hopefully.

"Nah. Flint's too smart for that." James dismissed, "I'm not too worried about him though."

"Not like him to miss out on bragging to us though is it?" Blue frowned.

James shook his head, "Lysander's got him on a tight leash as far as I can tell."

"I wonder why though..." Alex mused.

James shrugged, "Honestly, I'm still more annoyed about him being in the club then on the Quidditch team."

"But we have new leverage now." Blue said hopefully.

"Molly won't help us." James told him skeptically.

"You know it's kind of funny." Alex interrupted cheerfully, "We're practically related now James."

James looked at him funny.

"Now that our cousins our dating."

Once again James found himself completely bamboozled.

"What are you talking about?" He asked frowning just as Blue demanded,

"Leopold Rankin's your cousin?"

"WHAT?" James shouted.

Some girls in the seats in front of them glanced around at James.

Alex looked from Blue to James, looking surprised at their reactions.

"Why didn't you mention this before?" Blue demanded yet again but in a slightly lower voice.

Alex shrugged, "I didn't think it was relevant."

"How is that _irrelevant_?" James demanded staring intently at Alex.

"I dunno. I mean, we didn't know it was him that was running it. Just that he was involved. And we agreed not to talk about him and Julius too much either way." Alex said defensively.

"But don't you see how useful this could be?" James asked incredulously, "Your _cousin_ runs the Gambling Club!"

Alex shrugged, "It's not like you and your cousins though James. Cousin Leo and I aren't all that close."

James raised his eyebrows again, "You just called him Cousin Leo!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah..." Alex admitted, "He doesn't like that."

"Wait a second. This wouldn't happen to be the same cousin who you went to visit this summer?" Blue asked looking thoughtful.

"Yep!" Alex replied.

"With the super-rich family?" James asked remembering.

"The very same!" Alex smiled.

Blue grinned, "How did riding through the corridors on your broomstick go?"

"Surprisingly well," Alex smiled reminiscently, "I only knocked over one vase!"

James laughed.

"I don't think we'll be going back for a while though... Leo's parents weren't too impressed."

"You know, we've learned a _lot_ about Leolpold Rankin in the last hour." Blue said thoughtfully.

James nodded. They definitely had.

* * *

When Albus arrived at the Quidditch pitch, ready for training that evening, he was surprised to find that there was no sign of Rangi. On most days Rangi was the very first team member to arrive and by the time Albus got there he was setting up training drills but today the pitch was bare and empty.

He could hear Freddy, Paddy and Benito approaching from behind. James was with them too and Molly close was behind. Philip had not come today, sating that he had too much homework and with the match coming up he didn't want to interfere with the rest of the team.

"Where's Rangi?" Albus asked Molly as she arrived.

"No idea." She muttered, "Guess I'm in charge for the moment."

She looked annoyed but Albus could tell she was worried.

"Come on guys! We've got a big match to practise for!" Molly called gathering the team around her, "We're going to do a quick warm-up then we've got to get down to some good drills to prepare for Saturday. Chasers! I want you concentrating on passing. I don't want to see any sloppy ball-work. James, you're going to be catching the practise-snitch while Al and I are hitting Bludgers at you - you're going to need to be on guard on Saturday. The Slytherins are likely to be trying to knock you out of the game."

James gave Freddy an alarmed look and Freddy snickered but Molly ignored them and kept talking,

"Don't worry, we won't be using real Bludgers, only soft balls - we need your pretty little face intact for the match - but I want you to pretend that each one will _kill_ you. Got it? Now three laps everyone!"

Nobody argued.

It was a chilly evening, the sky was clear and cloudless but conditions looked ideal for the match. Despite the gaping absence of their Captain, the training session went relatively well for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Molly was satisfied with their performance though she seemed a little distracted. Albus knew that, like him, she was hoping Rangi hadn't gotten into some huge amount of trouble!

Just as they were finishing up, a figure appeared in the distance, hurrying out of the castle.

"One second!" Molly said to the team realising who it was.

She turned on her broom and sped off. Albus watched her urgent retreat. She flew low and hopped off the broom midflight as she reached Rangi's slowly-growing figure.

The team landed and greeted Rangi as he arrived. Molly looked grim. Rangi looked furious.

"What's happened?" Demanded Benito as they crowded around.

"Bad news team. I'm in big trouble with Professor Flint." Rangi told them bleakly.

Albus winced, this was exactly what he'd been afraid off.

"You're still playing on Saturday right?" James asked with a fearful expression.

"Yes." Rangi assured him, "It'd be too suspicious if Flint pulled that one twice. He's taken my broomstick though."

There was a communal gasp. Rangi's broomstick was his pride and joy.

"He says I have to ride this crappy, little school broom." Rangi said holding up the raggedy old broom he was carrying.

"He's tampered with it." Molly said severly, "Otherwise he wouldn't insist. You could ride Philip's broom if you wanted to."

"What exactly did you do?" Asked Freddy nervously.

"Well that's the problem!" Rangi exploded, "I wouldn't be so mad if I had actually done something but this time it's not even true!"

Albus wasn't sure of the validity of this statement but he waited expectently anyway.

"Flint has accused me of stealing Bludgers. He said he knows about what I did for my Quidditch trial and knows I stole the Bludgers from his office." Rangi told them through gritted teeth, "I told him those Bludgers were mine and the practise ones but he just didn't believe that I own twenty Bludgers!"

Molly looked like she had a bad taste in her mouth, Rangi's face was red with anger and his fists were clenched, all around him the Quidditch team were reacting in different ways; some with anger, others with misery. Personally Albus was just bewildered as he tried to imagine what Rangi's dorm must look like with twenty Bludgers roling around.

"He claims his Bludgers were stolen on that same day and then replaced. He must have made that part up himself." Rangi continued to mutter.

"My question is, how did he know about our trial?" Molly demanded, "There weren't any Slytherins in the stands, I made sure of that!"

"Don't worry team, I'll come up with something for Saturday. You won't see me riding this lousy lump of driftwood." Rangi told them all fiercly, giving the broomstick a nudge with his foot so that a couple of bent twigs fell out and rolled pathetically at his feet, "In the meantime, watch your backs. We don't want any more upsets."

* * *

**I meant to post this ages ago but things kept getting in the way! I'm so sorry! I hope that you enjoyed it anyway.**

**So far I've been a little disappointed with votes on the poll on my profile - not that I haven't been delighted to hear from those of you who have voted, I have - but not many people have voted. It's just a fun little poll so please do take a look.**

**Again, sorry this is so late!**


	19. Blackmail

**Chapter 19**

**Blackmail**

After Quidditch practice, James hurried up to the castle where he met Blue and Alex in the Entrance Hall. The whole drama with Rangi had come as quite a shock but he hadn't let it distract him from his own plans.

"Is she coming?" Alex asked a little nervously.

"Right behind me." James told them.

The rest of the team came in through the big oak doors. They were heading towards the Great Hall talking noisily.

"Hey! Molly! Can we have a word for a moment?" James called to his cousin.

Molly turned. She surveyed them suspiciously. Rangi, who had been talking to her looked from them to Molly with puzzlement on his face.

"Alright." Molly said slowly, walking over.

James stepped outside and Molly, Blue and Alex followed.

"Go on without me. I'll follow you in a second!" Molly called to Rangi over her shoulder and he followed the rest of the team into the hall.

James swallowed. Something about Molly always made him nervous. Probably because she was quite unpredictable - either that or the fact that she didn't seem to like him.

"What do you want?" Molly demanded.

James remembered that he was the one with the upper hand and smiled, "We just wanted to tell you that we've found out your little secret about your boyfriend and his club."

"_I_," Molly grumbled, "Will _kill_ Rangi Pai."

"It wasn't Rangi." James said quickly, "Lysander Flint told me."

"Yeah, and let's face it you probably already want to kill _him_ anyway." Alex pointed out.

Molly ignored them both, "What exactly is your point anyway?" She asked confidently.

"I want to get into the club!" James stated bluntly.

"No way!" Molly scoffed.

"Get me in or I'll let slip about Rankin and his club to your Dad." James declared. It wasn't exactly the classiest of threats but it was fairly promising. He had the power to destroy Molly's clean record with her father and he planned on using it.

What Molly said next however, completely undermined his entire plan-

"Yeah?" She asked, "Well, I'll just let slip that you intercepted disciplinary letters in your first year _and_ that you set a pack of owls on Professor Flint last year _and_ that you ate all of Lucy's Christening cake."

James mouth fell open, he couldn't really think of what to reply with. Molly smirked.

"I don't know where you got any of that nonsense from..." He muttered but he knew his face had already given him away, "And you can't hold the Christening cake against me! I was _five_!"

Molly shrugged, then without saying another word. She turned on her heel and walked away.

James stared after her. Blue was looking dumbstruck beside him.

"How does she _do_ that?" Alex asked, with a similarly bewildered expression.

James shrugged in absolute misery - his only plan had just gone down the drain.

Sighing, he went back into the castle. He had been so sure that blackmailing Molly would get him into the club and now he was just as far away as ever - And Molly somehow knew about all the things he been up to. He'd have to be nicer to her in the future...

"Now what?" Alex asked Blue.

Blue shrugged.

"Any news on the statue?" James asked cautiously, they hadn't talked about the snake for a long time.

James turned. Blue had stopped walking. He was standing frozen in the doorway with his mouth open slightly.

"What?" James demanded.

Blue opened and shut his mouth a couple of times like a fish before he spoke,

"Remember that conversation we had near the start of the year?" He asked quietly, "The one where Alex said Forrest might have stolen the statue."

"Yeah." Said James remembering.

"And you said he discovered it himself." Alex pointed out.

Blue nodded, "Well, who discovers things?"

James and Alex both shrugged. James had no idea what Blue was getting at.

"Remember the dragon's bones in Hagrid's cabin?" Blue pondered.

"The ones the archaeologist gave him?" James frowned, still not quite seeing what Blue was getting at.

"But that was just some friend of Hagrids." Alex pointed out.

"Exactly." Blue said quietly.

"You mean, what if it's Forrest? What if they're the same person?" James asked excitement flooding him.

"Hagrid never told us his name." Blue added.

"But, I don't get it." Alex said dumbly, "Then Hagrid would have to be friends with Forrest."

"Why not?" James shrugged.

"I can't believe I never thought of this before!" Blue muttered, "The way he was talking about it in the letter it should have been obvious that he was an archaeologist! And he used Hagrid's dragon eggs as a clue because he himself had planted them there!"

James nodded, finally everything was coming together.

"We have to go and ask him!" Enthused Alex.

"Now?" James asked, he was hungry but he pushed the thoughts of food to the back of his mind.

"Yes! Let's go! We can always eat at Hagrids!" Blue said surely.

James wondered if his friend had momentarily forgotten what Hagrid's cooking was like but he didn't say anything as the three of them tore off, out of the castle to Hagrid's cosy little hut on the grounds.

* * *

"Eh?"

"The friend you said gave you the Dragon bones?" Blue asked again.

"And the egg!" Enthused Alex, "What was his name?"

"Richard was his name but we called him Frankie." Hagrid informed them sitting a piping hot teapot down on the wooden table.

"What?" James asked pulling a confused face.

Hagrid sighed, "Richard Francis Forrest. Great man!"

Hagrid had seemed confused but cheerful when they'd arrived on his doorstep at dinner time demanding to know about his old friend.

"What's this about anyway?" Hagrid asked.

"History project!" James said quickly, "You said he was an archaeologist, right?"

"Mostly." Hagrid replied grinning fondly, "Archaeologist, researcher, historian and adventurer. He was quite eccentric. Always in search of something everybody else said didn't exist! Proved some of 'em wrong too."

The boys smiled encouragingly, waiting for more.

"He was once offered a teaching position here at Hogwarts but he turned it down - didn't like to stay in the one place too long."

"How'd he die?" Alex demanded as James elbowed him hard in the ribcage.

"How'd you know he's not still aroun'?" Frowned Hagrid.

"You keep referring to him in past tense." Blue interjected.

Hagrid's face returned to normal as he nodded, "Ah."

James had to give Blue credit here, that was a good save.

"You lot'll be missing you're dinner?" Hagrid frowned again.

"That's okay. Not hungry." Alex said as his hollow stomach growled in protest.

"I'm not buying that one. You're always hungry Alex." Hagrid smiled as Alex gave him a guilty look, "Best get back up to the castle."

"Okay." The three boys muttered.

"But the project?" Blue protested as they moved towards the door.

"Should be plenty in the library, look for Archaeology digs for legendary magical items and that kind of thing. I'm afraid I don't know much about it meself." Hagrid apologised, "Visit me again soon, won't yeh?"

"Okay. Will do." Blue smiled as they left the cabin and Hagrid shut the door.

"So?" Alex asked Blue as they stood on the doorstep.

"So, I go back to the library." Blue informed him, "Except this time I know what I'm looking for."

* * *

"Any luck?" James asked as Blue returned to the third year's dorm room that same night.

"Not yet but I've taken out some books. I'll take a look through these first and if I can't find anything here I'll just go back tomorrow."

"You're planning to read all of those tonight?" Alex asked his eyebrows rising up under his fringe as he eyed the tower of books.

"Well not cover to cover, obviously." Blue replied setting them down on his bed, "What have you two been up to?"

"Alex and I," James said excitedly sitting up straight on his bed, "Have been devising a new plan to get into the club."

Now it was Blue's turn to look skeptical.

"And?"

"Well it's a little rough..." Alex shrugged as James handed Blue the notes he'd been making.

Blue looked at him. James could see he wasn't hopeful but thankfully he seemed to have given up trying to talk sense into them.

"When are you planning to do this then?" Blue asked.

"Well, I want to get in with enough time to place a bet on the Quidditch match so... Tomorrow looks good." He grinned.

Blue rolled his eyes.

"Get ready, Blue! Because you're coming too!" Alex told him gleefully.

"Yay..." Blue groaned collapsing onto his bed as the other two exchanged victorious looks.

* * *

"Post!" Exclaimed Philip as the first owl of the morning dropped a brightly coloured envelope directly onto Albus's head.

Albus ripped it open. He could tell it was another letter from Rose by the handwriting.

"What did she say?" Philip asked peering at the letter over his bowl of cereal.

"_Dear Al,_" Albus read aloud,

"_Beaubaton's going great. I'm learning so much and I'm getting so much better at French! A girl called Jasmine has been showing me around. She's a year ahead of me and she grew up in England so she's fluent in French and English. I can't wait to tell you about her at Christmas!_

_I hope this reaches you before the Quidditch match. I really wish I could be there to see it. I'm sure Rangi must have the team working like clockwork by now-_"

"She's got that one right!" Interrupted Philip.

It was true, Rangi had had them training every single day and the team had really come together, Albus was hopeful for the match on Saturday but he still got butterflies every time he thought about it. In some ways he was glad Rose wouldn't be there.

"_Good luck, I'm sure everything will go perfectly! Make sure to write to me straight away!_

_See you at Christmas._

_Love, Rose._" Albus finished.

"Hey! She didn't even mention me." Protested Philip indignantly.

"_P.S. Say hi to Philip for me._" Albus said reading the end of the letter.

Philip smiled, "Much better."

"Mail for me?" Demanded James sitting down opposite Albus.

"Nope." Albus replied storing Rose's letter in his school bag.

James frowned. Albus could see that this wasn't the answer he had been hoping for.

"Were you expecting something?" He asked eyeing James warily.

"Keep your nose out of my business Al!" Snapped James.

Albus sighed, he'd been expecting that when he asked. James had been especially short tempered with him recently. He was sure that it was because James was hiding something. He would never let Albus in on a secret and always got annoyed if he asked questions. At this point, Albus was just hoping that whatever James was planning, he didn't get himself into too much trouble - or worse, drag him into it too.

"Come on, let's go." Philip said finishing his breakfast and standing up.

"Okay." Albus muttered getting to his feet with one last suspicious glance at James.

* * *

"Anything?" Alex asked taking his place next to James and snatching some toast.

"No. Stupid bird probably got lost." Growled James.

He was in a bad mood. He needed to get into the club today and he still didn't know where it was located. Uncle George was his last resort.

Then, suddenly a large brown owl swooped into the Great Hall. Speckled wings spread wide. James's owl landed gracefully on the edge of an empty rack of toast.

"There you are!" James exclaimed, "About time too."

The owl nipped his little finger as he reached to untie the letter attached carefully to one leg.

"Ouch!" He roared, snatching his hand back, "Alright! sorry."

Alex laughed. James rolled his eyes and took his letter. The owl nudged him again so he grabbed Alex's toast and tossed it to the hungry bird.

"There you go you silly pest!" He laughed as the owl snatched the toast out of the air and swooped away.

"Hey!" Alex exclaimed, he had stopped laughing now.

"What does George say?" Blue asked squeezing between the pouting Alex and James, who was scanning through his uncle's letter.

James let his head fall into his hands in frustration. Blue picked up the letter from where he'd left it on the table.

"I can't believe I never thought of it before!" James groaned through clenched teeth.

"What?" Asked Alex, obviously forgetting his feud with James.

"The map!" James exclaimed, "Why didn't we use the map?"

Blue looked up gravely, "At least we know now." He pointed out.

"Yeah but I just can't believe I never thought of it." James muttered into his hands.

"Quit sulking!" Alex said cheerfully, "We've got to get a move on - big day today and all that!"

James glared at him but got up and followed him out of the Hall.

* * *

** Hope everybody enjoyed this chapter! Reviews are highly valued!**


	20. Slot Machines and Grazed Chins

**As usual, super late - as always, my apologies. Also, please take part on the poll on my profile if you haven't already! It really cheers me up when I get to see your opinions. :)**

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and followed! I like this chapter so I really hope you all enjoy it too!**

**Chapter 20**

**Slot Machines and Grazed Chins**

All day James, Alex and Blue kept one eye on the Marauder's Map. They were looking for an unlikely spot where large groups of students would meet and there, according to Uncle George would be where they would find the Gambling Club. James was still furious that he hadn't thought of using the map before.

It wasn't until after classes had ended that they found a likely spot. They travelled there after dinner. It was an ordinary corridor on the third floor but soon enough, after a bit of searching, they found a trap door.

"Can you believe the teachers don't know about this place?" Alex asked as they pulled it open.

"There are hundreds of hidden passages and other secrets in Hogwarts." Blue pointed out reasonably.

James grinned, thinking of the Room of Requirement. He'd never got around to telling them about it and now he wasn't sure that he would. After all it was Rangi's secret gym. If they ever needed to use it themselves, he'd let them in on it but until then, he enjoyed having the secret to himself.

There was a large drop under the trapdoor but Blue found a rope ladder and they all clambered down. The ladder swung and wobbled as they climbed, it wasn't easy to get down and James got rope burns on his hands as he climbed. It was dark too, he had lit his wand but had to hold it between his teeth as they climbed.

Finally at the bottom, the three boys looked around properly. The chamber was dark and silent.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Alex asked nervously.

James had been pretty hopeful but now it seemed unlikely that any rebellious student activity had taken place in this dull place for at least a quarter of a century.

"The passage leads this way." Blue pointed out shining his wand down a gloomy passage.

James shrugged and followed him, their footsteps abnormally loud in the echoing passage.

They emerged in another chamber and to their great surprise and excitement, it was slightly less lonely than the last. A regal, wooden desk stood against one wall, lit with a cheerful oil lamp and sitting at it, scratching away at some parchment with a long eagle feather quill, sat Julius Binns.

"Julius!" Exclaimed Alex at the sight of his friend.

Julius looked up in alarm, he obviously hadn't been paying attention when the boys had entered.

"Oh, Alex!" He smiled, "So you finally made it in?" He paused for a second as his smile faded, "You did make it in, right?"

"Actually, no." Alex said smiling broadly, "That's why we're here."

"You're not going to cause any trouble for me, are you?" Julius said eyeing them warily, "I can't treat you differently to anyone else, you know."

"Oh yeah? Even when my _cousin_ runs the place?" Alex said smartly.

Julius's eyes widened, "How do you know about that?"

"Word gets out." James said simply."Now, I demand to see my cousin!" Declared Alex pompously.

"I'm afraid that's impossible. Leopold is very busy." Julius told them looking very worried, "Now please, get out of here, I don't want to have to be the one to get you into trouble."

"Too busy, is he? To see his only living relative!" Alex exclaimed dramatically.

James sniggered and Blue looked embarrassed but Julius just became more frantic.

"You are not his only living relative!" Julius protested indignantly.

"How do you know that something tragic hasn't happened that you just don't know about yet?" Teased Alex.

"Because I saw your Aunt and Uncle more recently than you did." Julius pointed out warily.

"Ah yes. How are good ol' aunty and uncle?" Alex asked leaning casually on the fancy desk as if having a pleasant chat at the local post office.

"Not so happy about your destruction to their property." Julius pointed out severely.

"Possessions are only material things, family is priceless." Alex smiled angelically.

"Then you should think about treating yours a little better." Julius warned, "Now you really have to go or it's my job to call security."

"Go ahead then." James sighed, "We're not leaving until we see Rankin."

Julius eyed him to see how serious he really was, James didn't flinch so his hand moved to a buzzer on the table top.

"I don't want to do this." Julius said again looking at Alex one last time. He shrugged. Julius pressed the button,

"Security! Front desk!" He called.

Blue took a step forward. James could taste the tension in the air. He knew Blue didn't want to be here but Alex looked like he was positively enjoying the experience. His excitement quickly faded when he saw who security was. Carlisle Lawless stepped out from a door behind the desk, muscles bulging in the lamp light. James felt himself freeze.

"Lawless, these three nonmembers won't leave." Julius said nervously.

Lawless stepped forward and Alex took a small step back so that he was no longer leaning on the desk. The older boy loomed over him.

"I'm starting to regret not trying to dissuade you..." Blue muttered in James ear.

James wished Blue had protested too. Furthermore, he wished he would have listened to him if he did. He hadn't thought about how painful this experience would be in reality when he had scribbled it down last night.

"We want to see Leopold." James demanded as courage and stupidity took over.

"That's not possible." Julius reminded them, James could tell he was no happier about the situation than Blue was, "Now please leave or I will have to ask Lawless to escort you."

"Let me see-" Alex only made it halfway through the sentence before Lawless stepped up and grabbed him by the arm.

"Alex!" James yelled in warning, seconds too late, "Let go of him."

James raised his wand but before he could cast a spell Lawless had both boys pinned up against a wall. He could feel his arm twisted behind his back still clutching his wand as his chin scraped against the rough wall.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something he never expected. Blue darted across the room, past where the two boys were pinned, over the edge of the polished desk and through the door from which Lawless had emerged.

Julius let out a cry of shock and Alex squealed in pain as he tried to turn and see.

"Security backup! Bronze Club!" Julius called into the buzzer.

There was a lot off yelling and scuffling from beyond the doorway before another large security, this time a Slytherin, dragged Blue back into the chamber.

"What's going on?" Came an authoritative voice as someone else emerged into the chamber. From his cramped position pushed against a wall James couldn't see much of what was going on, "Julius? Why was security called? What's happening out here?"

The voice sounded concerned and Julius's reply was apologetic, "Just three nonmembers trying to get into the club."

"Leo?" Came Alex's muffled cry, "Cousin Leo! It's me!"

Leopold's sigh was audible, "Let them go fellas, I'll make sure they don't try something else."

It was only when Lawless let go that James realised that he'd been lifting him high onto his tippy toes. He stumbled and fell, knees hitting the hard,stone floor. Alex caught himself by leaning on James's crouched back.

"And please don't call me that, Alex." Leopold Rankin added grimacing down at them.

James, Alex and Blue assembled themselves in front of the Gambling Club's sixteen-year-old leader.

"What were they trying to do again?" Leopold asked Julius without turning around.

"We only wanted to see you!" Interjected Alex.

Leopold surveyed him with crossed arms and a skeptical expression.

"We figured you wouldn't say no to letting your favourite cousin into to your very own club." Alex added smiling serenely.

"Alex, I am not letting you into the club just because we're related. And just for further notice, I would always pick your sister over you."

Alex feigned hurt but James knew by now that insults tended to bounce off his playful friend.

"Either way, let's take this into my office so that we can talk like civilized people." Leopold added nodding to Julius, "Maybe you should join us, Lawless? Just in case."

Leopold led the way through the door behind Julius's desk. The third years followed eagerly. James noticed that Blue had a cut lip and guilt panged at his heart strings. It had been his idea to go in guns blazing after all. Beyond the door was what James had longed to see for months.

A large chamber room, lit will dull neon lights stretched out. The floor was black and white checkered stone and tables, covered in green cloth filled the room. Students were everywhere. Playing poker, roulette, gin rummy. From one corner came the distinctive _ping _of slot machines. Little stalls were scattered around where more students were making bets and exchanging chips for fistfuls of galleons, sickles and knuts. On the walls, lit up brightly were emblems of the four card suits with two dice in the centre - the symbol Rangi had mentioned in September.

Leopold saw James admiring the place and smiled at him,

"Like it?" He asked.

James merely nodded.

Leopold led them through another door at the other end of this, beside which the Slytherin security guard stood looking intimidating.

The next room was like the first only here there were fewer people. Large chalk boards were advertising the odds on the Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch game against one wall while people made their bets.

"I'm taking you to my office." Leopold smiled, "Only my favourite people get to see in here and the really bad trouble-makers. -You're the latter," He added spotting the grin on Alex's face.

For a minute, James thought he saw Lysander's blond head before they were pushed through another door into a smaller chamber. This one had a large desk like Julius's and behind that a large aquarium full of brightly coloured fish. A couple of sixth years were hanging around in here, sipping drinks from a small water cooler and perched on the edge of the wooden desk, dressed in black jeans and a jacket and her hair in it's usual low ponytail, was Molly.

She hopped off the table as soon as she saw James,

"_What_ is he doing here?" Molly demanded, eyes flashing furiously.

"I invited him in." Leopold said smiling at how much he was obviously annoying her.

"Hi Molly." James grinned bashfully.

She was obviously not happy to see him.

"Now, what seems to be the problem that you caused such a big fuss for poor Julius?" Leopold asked civilly, reclining in a large swivel chair behind the desk.

"Ah yes, well we want _in_." James stated bluntly.

"Not this again!" Molly exclaimed rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

Leopold raised his eyebrows and put his finger tips together, "You realize that that privilege usually has to be earned, right?"

"Yeah well, everyone we asked was out of recommendations." James admitted bashfully.

"They tried to blackmail me." Molly pointed out.

Leopold rose his eyebrows again. James could tell he was enjoying himself.

"Well, I suppose James, as you're Molly's cousin and I know she's very fond of you I see no reason not to let you and your friends into the Bronze membership club."

James couldn't believe it. Neither could Molly apparently,

"Leopold if you let him in, I swear-"

"Let me just find some cards!" Leopold interrupted.

He opened one of the drawers of the desk and emerged with three, sleek, laminated cards. James's eyes opened greedily.

"Since I'm inviting you in myself though, I'm afraid you don't get any recs to give out." Leopold apologised.

"No recommendations?" Alex asked.

"Can't have everyone getting in, can we? Then there wouldn't be any appeal." Smiled Leopold handing the cards to Lawless, "Give your names to Lawless outside and he'll put them on the cards, I need this office to myself now."

Lawless ushered them out of the office and before the door shut behind them, James could hear Molly's livid ranting.


	21. Giant Mutant Butterflies

**To Ali, Ginny, Chlo and Alexandra: Thank you so much for the wonderful support and reviews! I'm so glad you are all enjoying the story! :)**

**P.S. Alexandra: Yes! We don't really have ice hockey here but from my experience ice skating I'd probably spend most of my time face down on the ice...**

**Speaking of sports...**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**Giant Mutant Butterflies**

It was Friday and James sat in class looking back on the long week behind him. The match was the next day and Rangi was still stuck with the rubbish school broomstick. Meanwhile, James had finally made his way into the secret underground club but so far he was not too happy with what he had found. It wasn't that he was disappointed with the cub itself. It was a really cool place, you could find almost anything down in those Chambers. It was exactly what he had found that was troubling him.

"Why are the odds on me catching the snitch tomorrow so low?" He grumbled, bad-temperedly to his friends.

"Those odds are based on previous matches and technically James, you've never actually caught the snitch in a match." Blue sighed, "Meanwhile Lysander Flint's been around for a while and there's a reason he's Slytherin Captain, James."

"You know you're not doing the best job at restoring my confidence!" James snapped as their Transfiguration teacher glared down the room at them.

"You know, if the odds are against you and you catch the snitch, anyone who bets on you will win loads of money." Alex pointed out.

James thought about this. Alex was right. Perhaps there was a way he could use this to his advantage - but he didn't know if he _could_ beat Lysander. Maybe he would if he had gold on himself. He could see Rangi's face in his minds eye. He knew what the captain would do.

"Okay then. After school, I'm going to go down to the club and place a bet on the match." James said decisively.

* * *

When he returned to Gryffindor tower that night, James was euphoric. Everything suddenly seemed to being going his way. His Quidditch skills were better than ever, he felt swift, fast and, unlike in the lead up to matches last year, confident. Lysander was good. Very good. But James had size on his side and the weather conditions were suited to him this time. Rangi kept worrying about was the Beater's trying to take him out early in the game so James had been spending the week dodging and weaving on his broom while Molly and Albus got practice trying to hit him. It was a little scary but it was challenging in a good way and after a bit of practice James had decided that it was actually very fun. To top it all off, he had finally succeed and taken his place in Leopold's secret gambling club and it was just as wonderful as James had hoped.

"You're cheerful." Observed Alex as James marched into the dormitory on Friday evening with a huge grin on his face.

"Yep!"

"Not worried about the match?" Blue asked over the top of a large book.

"Nope!" James replied.

"You were down at the club weren't you?" Blue asked with a raised eyebrow.

James grinned even more. Unlike himself, Blue had spent very little time in the club. He had spent most of the week reading large books in the library.

"Yep!" James told him, "And I've placed my bet for tomorrow."

Alex sat up straight staring at James curiously.

"So you're pretty confident about the outcome?" Blue asked.

"Well, if I didn't have to win before, I do now!" Smiled James.

"How much did you bet?" Blue asked cautiously.

"Not that much! Actually, yeah, quite a lot..." James admitted, "But that's not what I mean! I just really, _really_ want to win."

"Mmm..." Blue murmured returning to his book.

Alex tossed James a packet of sweets from a messy pile next to his bed.

"How's it going over there, Blue?" Alex asked eyeing the large book inquisitively.

"Actually... I may have just found something!" Blue said.

James and Alex crowded around him. Blue pointed and read aloud,

"_The excavation team was led by Richard Forrest, who is well-known amongst archaeologists for his search for mythical artifacts such as the legendary Wand of Aradia and for his theory on the existence of the salvus volumina ex Alexandria and research on the statuas fundatorum._"

"So what?" James asked pulling a face.

"Statuas Fundatorum." Repeated Blue.

"Sorry Blue, my Latin's a little rusty." James grumbled.

"I think it means founders' statues." Blue explained.

"Founders?" James asked puzzled.

"Blue, when did you learn Latin?" Asked Alex.

Blue sighed, "I don't I'm guessing. It's very like founders' statues in French."

"But I don't get it? Why founders? And I don't even know if you can call this a statue." James pointed out picking up the heavy golden snake.

"You don't think it's related to the Hogwart's Founders?" Alex asked, brow furrowed.

"That's exactly what I think." Blue said seriously, "Think about it. The entire search was around Hogwarts, one of the clues even talked about the four founders, remember?"

James nodded but was still unconvinced.

"Who do you associate with snakes after all?" Blue urged.

"Slytherin wasn't the only wizard associated with snakes." James said quickly defending his favourite animal.

The door opened and the three boys fell silent. James tucked the golden snake into the folds of his robes. Their roommates Rory and Owen walked into the room chatting.

"Bedtime?" Suggested James but what he really meant was _let's talk tomorrow_.

Blue nodded without breaking eye contact.

As James lay in bed, he found himself clutching the cold, gold of the statue. His confidence from earlier was waning. He found himself hoping to hope that he was right about tomorrow. That they really would beat the Slytherins. He looked into the emerald eyes of the statue as he tucked it carefully into the drawer beside his bed.

"Wish me luck." James whispered quietly, though even if the others could hear him, he knew they couldn't understand him...

* * *

Saturday morning arrived. Albus woke suddenly and at first he couldn't understand why he had felt so sick. The butterflies in his stomach from the night before seemed to have swollen like giant mutants all fighting for room. He went down to the Great Hall without waking Philip and ate by himself. Nothing tasted right.

The rest of the Gryffindor team arrived, they all seemed excited and confident.

The Slytherin team arrived too in the same jolly mood. Tension in the Hall was at a peak and there was much jeering and shouting from the two tables. Albus felt far apart from it all. Philip joined him but didn't say much, he could see Albus didn't feel like talking.

"_Albus? Albus!_" Called a distant voice.

Albus looked up. The rest of the team were on their feet.

"Earth to Albus? We're going down to the pitch. Are you coming or not?" James demanded.

"Eh- Sorry! Right." Albus mumbled standing up and abandoning the rest of his breakfast.

James sighed and Albus glanced nervously at Philip, who smiled reassuringly.

A large group of Slytherins in the Entrance Hall jeered at them as they passed. Albus tried to block it out as Rangi led them, smiling confidently, out of the castle. Albus was last and as he followed an older boy tripped him up. He caught onto James's sleeve as he stumbled.

Frustrated tears prickled his eyes. James looked down at him in frustration.

"Geez! Toughen up Al!" He hissed.

Albus glared at him, "I don't remember you being so cocky at your first game!"

He knew James just didn't want him embarrassing himself in front of the Slytherins but Albus couldn't help feeling defensive.

James opened his mouth to protest but before he could Rangi had leapt between the two of them.

"I'll have no silly bickering!" He demanded resting an arm around each of the siblings' shoulders, "Look up there!"

Albus and James looked up.

"Beautiful!" Rangi breathed staring directly at the sky, "Absolutely perfect! Clear, crisp but not cold and with just enough cloud cover to hide the sun's glare!"

Albus could see exactly what the Captain meant. They could not have hoped for a more perfect day and the absence of wind would be particularly promising for James.

"Today is a good day." Rangi informed them, "I can feel victory in the air!"

"You're crazy." Molly told him with a hand on her hip.

Rangi grinned stupidly and let go of James and Albus, taking his place at the front as they marched down the hill. Albus glanced at James. There was no use fighting with James today. There were bigger adversaries to worry about. James seemed to feel the same.

"What do you do if you can't get a shot at the Chaser who's in position?" James quizzed him.

"Hit the person they're most likely to pass to." Albus answered.

"And if their Beater takes a shot at you?"

"Redirect it at one of their other players. Don't hit it back." Albus replied quickly, as they reached the changing rooms.

"Because..." His brother coaxed.

"Because then they have the Bludger." Albus replied, "And they'll hit one of us."

"If they can." Smirked James.

"If they can." Agreed Albus.

No matter what they fought about, Quidditch was the Potters' common ground. James and Albus both knew this.

"Team talk!" Called Rangi and everyone gathered around him, "Right. We have a really, _really_ good chance at this today. We need this victory. We should have won the Cup last year but luck wasn't on our side. This year, we don't need luck. We're too good now to be beaten by a bunch of slimy thugs on broomsticks. We have skill and talent and..."

"And what?" Molly asked skeptically as Rangi ran out of words.

"And unity!" Rangi declared dramatically, "A team of united, hard-working players who help each other and who rely on each other!"

"Here here!" Called Freddy laughing merrily.

"We've got everything we need to win this so let's just go out there and show 'em who's boss!" Roared Rangi, "Are we ready?"

The team cheered. Albus felt himself joining in. The mutant butterflies had subsided to edgy anticipation. Rangi's pure excitement was contagious.

"Let's go!"

Rangi ushered them all out onto the Quidditch pitch where they were met by volumous roars. The stands were packed. Albus suddenly felt like a zoo animal with everyone watching him.

"Ignore it." He heard James whisper behind him, "Play just like in training."

Albus nodded and took up his position, oblivious to the surrounding cheers. Rangi and Lysander crushed each others fingers. The whistle blew and the teams took off.

* * *

**Sorry to leave it hanging there! The match is on the way. :)**


	22. Fall From Grace

**blitzer99, I am dedicating this chapter to you, I think you will know why when you read it! ;)**

* * *

**Chapter 22**

**Fall From Grace**

The still wind rushed in James's ears as he carved his path through it. He wanted an early snitch catch, to get it over with. His eyes darted around the field as the match raged beneath him. He kept an eye on Lysander Flint as he circled the pitch. He spotted Tybalt, he had forgotten that his notorious classmate would be taking part in this match. Well, it was time to finally find out if he really was all talk. He was relatively small for a Beater but then again so was Albus and he could still hit a Bludger with speed and accuracy.

_'Where's this stupid snitch anyway?'_ James thought speeding up and down searching vigorously for the tiny golden ball.

The usual commentators Milo Peabody and Belenus Cabbell were discussing the match.

"Tensions really high for this match, eh Bel'? Slytherin and Gryffindor have been rivals for centuries and I believe Gryffindor wants to get them back for their last play-off." Milo was debating.

"Milo, we're meant to be commentating not giving our own opinions." Belenus grumbled, obviously annoyed by his partners lack of professionalism.

"Of course! And what a match it is too! So far there's a bit of a deadlock with no-one being able to get the Quaffle any nearer the other team's hoops." Milo informed everyone cheerfully, "It's hard to tell whether they're both on the offense or the defense..."

"Fred Weasley with the Quaffle." Belenus injected.

James kept flying. Scanning the pitch. He only broke his search to take a quick glance at Albus. He seemed to be doing well. Molly had him well trained.

_'Just as well... I couldn't have him embarrassing me out here!'_ Thought James with a well-disguised pang of pride.

* * *

Albus's heart pounded against his rib cage as he darted through the raging, suspended battle. The Slytherin team was putting up a good fight and so far neither team had scored. Gryffindor were hoping for an early snitch-catch but so far James hadn't seen anything. Albus was terrified to be here, trapped in the centre of the action and it was all he could do to keep from panicking. He forced himself to focus on the job at hand. He flew around whichever Chaser was in possession, deflecting any Quaffles that came their way, just as he had been taught... but it was a fast game though and Albus was struggling to keep up.

A Bludger pelted towards Freddy and Albus quickly darted into its path and knocked it back the way it came but in his effort he lost his balance and bumped into Freddy who swerved into the path of yet another oncoming Bludger. Luckily Molly appeared and sent the Bludger crashing towards Slytherin Chaser, Wright.

"I've got this, Al. Go high and shoot some Bludgers at whoever's in possession!" Called Molly, as they swapped positions.

This was part of Molly's plan, to swap between offense and defense to keep them both focused.

Albus scanned the pitch and spotted a Bludger flying off course unaided. This was his lucky chance, he sped towards the Bludger, overrode it and turned smacking it straight into the Slytherin with the Quaffle.

"Ooh! Rander hit by a Bludger by Gryffindor's new Beater, Albus Potter. I was doubtful but that kid's got a hard hit! Rander loses possession to Paddy Hyde of Gryffindor. Flying up the pitch towards Slytherin Keeper!" The Hufflepuff commentator Milo jabbered, talking quickly to keep up with the game's speed.

Albus swelled with pride and suddenly his nerves seemed to shrink.

"Gryffindor in possession! Hyde dodges Wright," Continued Milo while Belinus Cabbell struggled to get a word in edge wise.

"Tackled by Rander-" The Ravenclaw managed.

"Rander with the Quaffle! Heading back up the pitch! This sure is one see-saw of a match!" Mile blabbed excitedly, "For those of you who don't know, a see-saw is a toy often found in Muggle playgrou-"

"Milo! Focus on the match please." Belinus grumbled, "Rander passes to Eagle-"

"Slytherin Chasers are on fire today! You can just see how much they want this. Wouldn't you say so, Bel'?"

Albus continued pelting Bludgers at the Slytherin Chasers from above as the commentary continued below. It was only when he broke concentration to glance up at James above him that he was knocked on the back of the head by a Bludger. He spun and saw Tybalt Tyne some yards away, bat in hand. His head throbbed but he didn't have time to get distracted. Slytherin was still in possession and Eagle was speeding up the pitch with alarming speed.

"Eagle tackled by Weasley." Milo enthused, "What- FOUL?"

Albus looked down. It was true. Professor Flint, who was acting, as always, as referee, had called a foul.

"What do you mean? It was a perfectly legitimate tackle!" Yelled Milo outraged.

"Milo! I have warned you before about criticizing the referee." Professor Longbottom scolded him, "Professor Flint calls the fouls around here. You should treat him with a bit more respect!"

Milo grumbled but stopped talking. Albus didn't understand what had gone wrong. He hadn't noticed Freddy doing something against the rules.

He had to return his focus to the game as a Bludger shot towards James. He raced after it and diverted it off track as the crowd around cheered and groaned as the Slytherins scored.

"Can't believe Slytherin scored!" Muttered James as the Bludger headed back towards Rander,

"What happened, I couldn't see?" Albus asked.

"Lucky shot. They were already so close when Flint gave them that pointless foul!" James spat, "And Rangi's not as fast on that old school broom."

Albus looked at the captain, he looked frustrated but for a second Albus thought he saw a flash of a smile before Rangi turned his head away.

"Well, back to work!" James sighed eyes scanning the green field, "Thanks bro."

Albus sped off. Tybalt began tailing him and every time he went to hit a Bludger the older boy reached it first and sent it towards a Gryffindor. This continued for a while and Albus grew more and more sick of Tybalt and his stupid smirk. Gryffindor scored but Slytherin scored again too. Rangi's low performance broomstick was really taking it's toll on the Keeper.

"What's going on Al!" Yelled Molly as she deflected get another of Tybalt's ferocious hits.

Tybalt was reaching all the stray Bludgers before him. He hadn't expected him to be this good.

He smacked a Bludger at Wright, who was in possession but Tybalt appeared in front of it and sent it back at Albus. The heavy, black ball hit his arm which was clutching the broomstick. He wobbled as he tried to regain control.

Tybalt took the opportunity to send the second Bludger his way too but before his bat even made contact with it, James crashed into him, knocking the bat from his hand.

Tybalt yelled out but James kept flying. Albus regained control. At first he thought James had been helping him and was surprised and pleased - but James hadn't stopped. The crowd went silent as eyes searched for the elusive Golden Snitch that the Gryffindor Seeker had spotted but a whistle pierced the year and Professor Flint swerved into James path causing him to pull up short and jerk backwards on his broomstick.

Cries and yells erupted from the Gryffindor supporters but the teachers quickly shushed them.

"Foul against the Slytherin Beater!" Called the Flying teacher.

"_What_?"

Albus could hear James's yell even from the distance.

"You heard me Potter. Tyne fetch your bat and we'll continue with a free for Slytherin." The Professor dictated.

Tybalt, who had been distracted by James bolting across the sky, grinned broadly and dived to retrieve his Beater's Bat. James had clearly lost all sight of the Snitch and he spiraled up to Rangi at the Gryffindor Goals. Albus sighed and flew over to Molly.

"How's it going up there, Al?" She asked.

"Not great." He admitted.

"If that new Beater keeps tracking you, don't be afraid to bash into him." Molly suggested grimly.

"He's bigger than me." Albus pointed out practically.

"Mmm... true."

They watched as the Slytherins took their free and then they swapped positions again.

As the game continued, the Slytherins got rougher and rougher and Flint got stricter and stricter with the Gryffindors. The Gryffindor crowd was angry and disgruntled. A great amount of groaning echoed around the stadium as their hero of a Keeper let in a fifth goal.

Rangi just didn't have his usual speed and agility on the old broomstick.

Albus was tired. His weight was on his throbbing arm as he maneuvered around shooting Bludgers here and there.

"Benito Camisso with the Quaffle! Going for goal." Milo Peabody was conversing from the stands, "Great name isn't it? _'Benito Camisso'_... Got a nice ring to it or something."

"Milo..." Warned Belenus Cabbell as the other commentator veered off topic again but Milo didn't need encouragement anymore.

"GOAL! Gryffindor score!" Cheered the excitable Hufflepuff with overt, biased enthusiasm.

Albus's heart skipped a beat.

"Finally Gryffindor has made a comeback! Now it's twenty - fifty, with Slytherin still in the lead-"

Suddenly the commentary went quiet. Professor Flint was blowing on his whistle again.

"Discounted!" Albus heard Benito exclaim as he flew closer to the source of the commotion.

"There was a foul a minute before the shot - a free must be taken." Commanded Professor Flint as the Gryffindors protested.

"It's our free! Just give us advantage." Argued Freddy.

"No arguing with the referee Weasley or I'll put you off the pitch." Flint threatened.

"He didn't do anything!" Molly interrupted, jumping to her brothers defense.

"No attitude from you either!" Flint snapped, "I'm giving the free to Slytherin instead for Gryffindors lack of cooperation."

Molly opened her mouth to protest furiously,

"You can't do th-"

"OFF THE PITCH WEASLEY!" Flint yelled.

Molly sped off. Albus could see her face screwed up in rage. He flew after her. She dismounted the broomstick at the edge of the pitch. Flint flew off too only not as quickly, he seemed frustrated but his broomstick wasn't traveling at it's normal fast pace.

Molly was clearly trying to restrain herself. Albus was just relieved she had distanced herself from the Flying teacher before she really gave him a piece of her mind. She looked at Albus seriously as he reached her.

"Keep going, Al. You got this. Forget about the attack - we need you defending our Chasers, got that?"

Albus nodded.

"Don't worry. We've got this game in the bag. It won't be long now."

Albus didn't know what she was talking about. They were thirty points down and there was no sign of the snitch, Rangi was off form and now they were down a player. He had no chance to question her though because at that moment the game restarted and he sped off to take up his position.

Slytherin soon managed another goal but it wasn't long before there was another disturbance-

"What's Flint doing now?" Snapped a now-grumpy Milo.

"Milo!" Scolded Professor Longbottom.

Everyone turned to look at the Professor. Neville stood up. Flint wasn't blowing his whistle. He was spiraling downwards. For an insane moment Albus thought he might be after the snitch but he shook himself into sense. No, there was something wrong - he seemed somehow out of control. Flattening slightly, he landed heavily. It was then that Albus spotted it. The Professor's broomstick was in two splintered pieces.

Albus stared in disbelief. Professor Liberius and Professor Longbottom ran out onto the pitch. The teachers were huddled together. Liberius turned to the frozen players, even James had stopped searching for the snitch, and signaled time out.

Albus and the other Gryffindors landed and gathered at the base of their Hoops. Molly joined them too, something smug in her eyes. None of them were sad to see Flint fall.

"Okay team. Looks like a stroke of luck. Without Flint here, things are about to get a whole lot fairer." Rangi told them all.

Freddy frowned at the captain, "Rangi?"

"Shh! No time, look."

They all looked. The group of teachers had broken up. Flint was leaving the pitch with Neville and Liberius called them over as his broomstick magically zoomed up to his side.

"We'll continue as we were, I'm refereeing until the end of the game." Liberius told them both teams.

Albus felt like he should be celebrating this and yet the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher looked so ferocious at that moment that he found he couldn't even smile. Perhaps this was just as well as Lysander's cold grey eyes were boring into the Gryffindor team.

The game restarted yet again. Gryffindor did much better now that Flint was gone. No longer were fouls blown every time they were in possession and somehow Rangi managed to recover and he didn't let in any more goals. Soon Gryffindor had levelled the score. Somehow, Albus thought, Rangi seemed to be flying faster than before. Perhaps it was the pure delight of Flint's downfall.

Albus was still struggling though. Molly had not been allowed to return to the game and he was outnumbered by the opposing Beaters. Tyne was also still giving him a particularly hard time. Just when Albus had made sure the Chasers were safe, Tybalt would suddenly turn his attacks on James at the other side of the pitch.

One time, just as this occurred for the fourth or fifth time and Albus had sped off to his brother's protection, James suddenly turned and flew straight at him. Missing the Bludger by inches, he almost hit Albus but the younger boy swerved out of the way in the nick of time.

Albus turned as the slipstream from his speeding brother made his hair stand on end.

"He's spotted the _snitch_!" Milo practically squealed as all eyes turned to James. Albus stared. He spotted the tiny golden ball dancing away from James. Lysander, having taken off after him, was now level with James. He shoved the younger boy but James remained balanced. Pushed up against each other as they battled, the two Seekers sped along together.

Lysander's arm was longer but James was lighter. Even from the distance they were now from Albus could see his brother's face, red and straining. Just as the snitch came within Lysander's reach, James threw himself forward, snatching victory from defeat.

A deafening roar erupted but Albus didn't have time to cheer. The sheer momentum of his efforts had thrown James off his broomstick. Albus shot towards his brother as he fell but Molly got there first, wand in hand and a mattress apeared on the grass moments before James collided with it.

"Oof!" James muttered as the wind was knocked out of him.

"Good thinking Miss Weasley." Liberius commended her, "I'm sure Madame Cogas will thank you far that."

Molly smiled as Albus bent over his shocked brother.

"You okay James?" He asked quickly.

"Got the snitch." James grinned stupidly.

He stood up and held up his clenched fist and the crowd roared even louder.

Then there was a thump as Rangi, still semi-airborne tackled his Seeker in a ferocious bear-hug.

Albus laughed, Molly shook her head. Then the rest of the team surrounded them. Cheering, high-fiving and clapping each other on their backs.

The jubilant group didn't break apart until Professor McGonagall parted them.

They all silenced at the sight of the Headmistress in their midst. Rangi freed James who he still held in a tight, fond headlock.

"Molly and Fredrick Weasley, James and Albus Potter. I have just received a message from the burrow. News from home." She informed them seriously.

The four children followed her off the pitch exchanging curious glances.

* * *

**I really hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! It was a fun one to write. Unfortunately updates are going to continue to be random and rare for another month or so (it's unavoidable) but I'll keep doing what I can! Thank you all for your continuing support.**


	23. Seren and Celebration

**Chapter 23**

**Seren and Celebration**

McGonagall led the way up to her office. Last time Albus had been here he had been in serious trouble. He hoped that this wouldn't be a similar situation.

The circular tower room was just as he remembered it, neat and clean with portraits of past Heads of the school and the mantlepiece and a fireplace - a fireplace with his Gradmother's head sitting right in the centre.

"Granny!" Grinned Freddy kneeling at the hearth.

When Professor McGonagall didn't protest Albus joined him. His Grandmother, Molly, was smiling broadly at them through the Floo network.

"What's the news?" Demanded Molly laying down her shiny black bat as she and James joined the other two.

"Luna and Georges' new baby has arrived!" Thrilled their Granny.

Albus had guessed this might be the news when he'd seen her so happy. They all smiled and joked and sent their congradulations back to the parents.

"It's a lovely little girl." Their Granny told them tearfully, "Oh it's wonderful! And Luna and George are so excited."

"What are they calling her?" Asked Freddy.

"Seren." She told them.

"_Seren_?" James asked pulling a face, "Well, it's their baby I guess... So when do we get to come and meet the new member of the family?"

"Nice try James but you'll have to wait until Christmas." Their Granny smiled at the disgruntled James, "It's not long anyway. You'll all be coming to the Burrow for Christmas and staying until New Years or so. I have to go now but I'll see you then! Love from all!"

The Weasleys and the Potters exitted the office, thanking McGonagall for letting them use her chimney.

"Good news, I hope." Grinned Rangi when they found him at the bottom of the revolving staircase that led to the Headmistresses office.

"Yeah, we've got a new baby cousin." Freddy told him and the other team members.

"Cute!" Smiled the Quidditch Captain.

"You waited for us?" Molly asked surprised, "You should have gone on. The other Gryffindors will be feeling deprived of their victory."

"Then we better hurry! We won as a team, we celebrate as a team." Rangi grinned excitedly.

Molly laughed and they all ran after Rangi all the way to the common room.

When they entered Albus was overwhelmed by a deafening cheer. It seemed the entire house was there in the common room. Ten minutes later Albus found himself, squished into a little group with Molly, Rangi, Oswin and Philip. His back was physically aching from all the people who had been patting it. He wasn't used to all the attention. That was much more James's place. James was laughing nearby with Alex, Blue, Letitia and the other boys from his dorm.

There were red and gold decorations everywhere and everyone was in high spirits. The dummys from the Quidditch trial had reappeared and were victoriously touring the room.

"Ha! We'll have to get you one of those." Rangi speculated as he sipped from a bottle of butterbeer that had appeared mysteriously from Freddy Weasley's secret stash.

Personally Albus was grateful that there wasn't any. He already felt too exposed. He hadn't wanted to be on the Quidditch team for the in-house fame.

"Rangi!" James exclaimed joining us, "I know you had something to do with Flint's little... accident! When are you going to tell us what you did?" He demanded as the circle widened to accommodate himself and his friends.

Rangi began to laugh, surprisingly Molly was smirking too.

"A simple trick." Winked the Captain.

"Come on, tell us!" Begged James.

"Fine." Rangi grinned, "Last night, Molly, Leopold and I snuck down to Flint's broom shed. I swapped the broomstick that he had given me with his own one and Molly performed a switching spell, that swapped the appearances of the two broomsticks. All that Flint knew today was that his broomstick was running a little slow and then - boom!"

James looked dumbstruck, himself and Alex began laughing loudly. Albus looked at Philip, he, like Albus, looked like he felt a mixture of shock and exasperation and yet also, deeply impressed.

"Taking Flint's broom instead of his own was Rangi's idea." Molly smiled, "That way Flint never suspected anything. I guess this proves the theory of Flint sabotaging broomsticks though." She said more gravely, Albus and James had both fallen victim to this trick last year.

"Yeah well, whatever he's using; a potion, charm, termites... It's backfired on him now!" Rangi smiled triumphantly.

Albus agreed. In his opinion Professor Flint deserved everything that he got.

"So you let in those goals on purpose?" Philip demanded looking horrified.

"It was a pretty risky game," Rangi admitted, "But everyone thought I was on some crappy school broom. It would have been a little weird if I started speeding all over the place. Don't worry, I wouldn't have let them get too far ahead! I figured it was such a tight game it'd all come down to the snitch anyway. I'm afraid I put all my faith in you James. You don't mind, do you?" Rangi asked looking guiltily at James.

"Next time you wouldn't mind telling me when you're about to do something like that." James asked looking a little bewildered.

"No offense James but you're not at your best under pressure." Rangi informed him.

It was late when the party in the Gryffindor Common Room finally died down. Albus was relieved. He lay in bed, exhausted, and replayed the match in his head. Over and over until eventually, he fell asleep.

* * *

With the party in the common room and all the homework he had to catch up on on Sunday, it was Monday before James could collect his winnings from the Club.

He hurried down to the chambers where it was hidden as soon as classes ended and returned to the common room in triumph. He had placed a lot of money on the game and luckily for him he had managed to keep hold of it with interest. The interest though, was not more money. James had been tempted by something much less conventional and here it was.

"Hold Hippogriffs James! A _SNAKE_?"

Albus screeched as he came face-to-face with James in the Gryffindor common room.

"Yes, Albus. That's what it is called. Don't wet yourself." James muttered rolling his eyes at his younger brother.

Albus recoiled and ignored the insult, "You can't possibly keep it."

James scoffed, "Can and will!"

What was Albus supposed to do to stop him. It was his pet now and none of Albus's business. It wasn't his fault if Albus was scared of snakes.

"But James-" Stuttered the younger boy.

"But what, Al?" James snapped short-temperedly, "It's my snake and I'll keep it if I want to."

"You can't!" Albus protested again.

"And why not?" James demanded, this was not exactly how he'd planned for his day to go.

"Because..."

He watched as Albus struggled to find a reason.

"Because I'll tell Mom and Dad!"

James was too annoyed to be amused by this response,

"Do what you like. I've done nothing wrong." He replied.

"For once." Added Alex creeping up behind his friend, "What's with the snake?"

"This!" James exclaimed turning his back on Albus who proceeded to hurry out of the portrait hole, "Is my new pet."

James beamed with satisfaction as Alex warily observed the scaly reptile in the cage at his side. Unfortunately Alex didn't look too thrilled at the news.

"Are you keeping it in our dorm?" He asked wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"Of course I'm keeping _her_ in our dorm." Jams frowned.

Blue looked up from a nearby armchair where he sat reading the Daily Prophet,

"Beside your bed then." He said forcefully.

Thoroughly put out by his friends reaction, James marched off to their dorm. He had to get ready for Quidditch training. They may have just beaten Slytherin but Rangi already had his eyes on the next match.

"There you go." James muttered to his new pet as he set the cage down on his bedside table.

The snake peered back at him.

"I'll be back soon with some food and we can get you settled in properly."

* * *

After Quidditch practise James stayed late and helped Rangi tidy up the Quidditch gear.

"So, how's Professor Flint this fine day?" James asked sarcastically.

"I believe he is still hiding out in the Hospital wing." Grinned Rangi, "Though whether it's due to injury or shame I cannot tell you."

James laughed.

"He'll be out to get you when he gets out." James pointed out more seriously.

Rangi shrugged, "We'll deal with that when it happens. Hey look! That's where this got to-"

Rangi plucked something off the notice board.

"What?" James asked as he collected his broomstick ready to leave.

"I misplaced this a while ago..."

"You mean you lost it." James corrected.

"No." Smiled Rangi, "I just couldn't remember where I put it."

"Well what is it?" James asked the older boy as he too collected his broomstick.

Rangi had made sure to switch back to a normal school broom and leave Professor Flint's one exactly where he'd found it.

"Notes on my new secret society." Rangi told him proudly.

"A new secret society?" James demanded thinking at once of the Gambling Club.

"Yeah, I founded it with other concerned Hogwarts residents who fear that Lysander is up to something." Rangi explained as they headed for the castle.

"I'm sorry?" James asked frowning in puzzlement.

"Surely you've noticed there's something up with the Slytherins." Rangi said confidently.

"Well..." James couldn't say he had. It was true that this year seemed quieter than last and he didn't like Tybalt's new friendship with Lysander but he hadn't really thought much of the Slytherins being 'up to something'.

"I know! You can come to the next meeting." Rangi enthused.

"When is it?"

"Two minutes." Rangi said glancing at his watch, "We should run."

With that the captain took off sprinting towards the castle a bewildered James close behind.

* * *

"Albus?" James exclaimed in frustration when he saw who Rangi was stopping to talk to in the Gryffindor common room.

"James!" Albus glared. Philip stood beside him looking a little worried.

"Calm down guys." Rangi said gently, "We're all friends here in the Anti-Slytherin League."

"You can't let him in." Albus said crossing his arms and huffing, "He belongs in Slytherin more than he belongs in here."

"Oh, come on!" Cried James, "It's just a snake, Al! Get over it."

"I don't care. You're not allowed in." Albus glared.

"I never asked to join! This sounds crazy. You're just being paranoid as usual." James pointed out crossly.

"Hey James. That's going a bit far." Rangi said with a bite in his voice.

"If you don't want to be here then leave." Albus snapped at his brother.

"Make me!" James demanded. There was no way he was letting Albus boss him around.

"Now, now." Rangi interjected as James moved threateningly close to Albus, "Let's all just take a deep breath-"

But it was too late. The boys were already arguing and when James and Albus began to argue it was hard to stop them.

Rangi sighed and then suddenly produced a gavel out of his bag. He banged it loudly on a nearby table. When it hit the wood the second time without warning it burst into a chicken. Luckily this alarmed the arguing brothers so much that they fell silent.

Rangi chuckled, "I forgot I got this from Freddy... Anyway. On with business. The Slytherins are planning something big."

"How do you know?" James demanded.

"You here it in their whispers," Rangi told them in a low dramatic tone, "You can see it in their eyes. You can smell it in their... eh... sweat."

James pulled a face.

"Okay maybe not," Rangi admitted, "But I can tell there's something going on and Lysander's the instigator."

"Are you sure you're not just saying that because, well - you hate him?" James asked, still not convinced.

"Of course not!" Rangi said obviously offended by the suggestion, "You've seen how much better we've been getting along recently - that in itself is a clear indicator that he's up to something."

James was surprised to see that Philip and Albus looked almost as unconvinced as he was.

"What's that Malfoy guy in your year up to?" Rangi demanded looking at Albus and Philip.

"I don't know." Albus told him, "I haven't actually spoken to him since last year." At this point he caught James's eye and looked down guiltily. It wasn't often that James or Albus spoke of what happened last year. James still didn't know all of what Albus had been doing when they'd ran into each other but Scorpius Malfoy had been there.

"Just as I suspected!" Rangi exclaimed breaking James's train of thought, "It's obvious that the Slytherins don't want any trouble."

James wasn't so sure.

"So, what do we do?" Rangi continued, "We make some trouble for them. Okay? Brainstorm people. I want ideas."

Philip and Albus exchanged worried glances. James didn't say anything.

"Now, I have to go. I was meant to meet Oswin twenty minutes ago on the seventh floor." Grinned Rangi and with that he picked up his bag and tucked the chicken that was strutting around his feet under his arm and ran off.

James left too. He wasn't going to waste any more time with hanging out with Albus. Besides, he wanted to get back to what had started their whole fight - his new pet.

* * *

**Sorry everyone for scaring you with the end of the last chapter! I guess McGonagall is always scary when she delivers news, even if it is good! What do you think of James new pet? Let me know!**

**By the way, Rose, Scorpius and Tybalt are all feeling very unloved in my poll so if they are your favourites go and let them know! :P**


	24. An Unexpected Breakthrough

**Chapter 24**

**An Unexpected Breakthrough**

As James disappeared up the staircase to the dormitories, Albus and Philip took their favourite spots by the common room fireplace.

"Why do you care if James joins anyway. I thought you didn't take the whole thing that seriously anyway?" Philip asked as they sat down.

"I don't but I just don't want him around. He only got that slimy reptile to annoy me." Albus grumbled. He had been in a bad mood since meeting his brother that morning.

"Well, I don't know about that but we're not going to try and cause some trouble for the Slytherins are we? We could wind up in serious trouble." Philip replied, tactfully turning the conversation back to the Anti-Slytherin League meeting.

"I know. Let's just hope we can distract your brother or he'll drag us all into something crazy." Albus said with a sigh.

If there was one thing he didn't want to get dragged into it was a conflict with the Slytherins. They already seemed mad enough with him after the Quidditch match. He couldn't walk down the corridor without a Slytherin sticking their foot out to trip him or Tybalt Tyne shoving him or making a snide remark.

Now that the Quidditch match was over Albus couldn't wait for Christmas, he was tired of school work and he needed the break. In addition to this he was still missing Rose and he couldn't wait to see her again. She had sent him plenty of letters but it just wasn't the same as taking face to face.

"I saw Tybalt Tyne and Paul talking in the court yard today. It seems odd that those two would get along." Philip said pensively.

"I supposed so - don't tell Rangi about it though. He'll read too much into it." Albus said hurriedly.

"Even still, Paul's not a nice guy but he's not as... _fiery_ as Tyne. He's sneakier, you know?" Philip continued.

Albus agreed.

"It's understandable though too. Malfoy would never let him in with his crowd so who else is he going to hang out with?" Albus reminded Philip.

Last year, when Paul Brady had helped to get Philip and Albus into some major trouble he had done so at a price to Scorpius and the young Malfoy had not emerged from the night in great condition. It would surely take a while for the Slytherins in his own year to forgive Paul so it was no wonder that Paul was trying to get in with the third years.

Soon after this Philip and Albus headed down to the Great Hall for dinner. In the Entrance Hall they spotted Will skulking around near the entrance to the dungeons.

"What's Will up to?" Philip wondered aloud as they descended the marble staircase into the hall.

At that moment, Tybalt Tyne emerged from the Dungeons, he spotted Will and shoved him hard,

"What you looking at Mudblood?" Snarled Tybalt.

"N-nothing." Muttered Will stumbling from the force of the push.

"Then get out of here!"

Tybalt's cronies laughed as they gathered behind him.

"But I can help you-" Protested Will as Tybalt and his friends turned and continued walking.

"You got a problem, Potter number two?" The red-headed Slytherin demanded spotting Albus watching from the base of the stairs.

Albus simply looked away as Tybalt grinned menacingly at him. He could tell the third year was in the mood for a fight. The Slytherins laughed again and Katherine Burke led the way into the Great Hall.

"You okay, Will?" Asked Philip with raised eyebrows.

"I'm _fine_!" Spat Will furiously.

Philip shrugged.

"What are you doing around the dungeons anyway?" Albus asked Will, "The Slytherins are bound to get annoyed if you're hanging around here."

"Why should they care?" Will demanded.

"You're a Gryffindor. Slytherins don't like Gryffindors. End of story." Albus shrugged as they continued towards the Great Hall.

"But I'm not like other Gryffindors!" Will protested pointlessly.

"That doesn't matter to them. They just don't like you Will." Albus sighed. This was ridiculous.

"You don't know that!" Cried Will frantically.

"Why don't you put more effort into making friends with the other Gryffindors instead of chasing after the Slytherins." Suggested Albus bluntly.

He could see Will swell with anger, then the younger boy punched him hard in the arm and marched away.

"Ow." Philip said sympathetically as Albus rubbed his sore arm.

Albus sighed angrily as they walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down.

"Have you ever seen somebody so desperate to be in Slytherin?" Philip asked him with exasperation.

Albus thought for a minute, "Remember Artemis?" He pointed out.

"That was different." Philip argued, "I don't think Artemis cared what house she was in. She just wanted her sister to leave her alone."

"I guess." Albus agreed.

"Do you know how she's getting on in France?"

"Not really. Rose thinks she seems happier though." Albus informed him hopefully.

"Oh look!" Philip said suddenly pointing over to the Slytherin table.

Albus looked. He could see Lysander Flint. He was clearly not happy with Tybalt. Albus studied their body language carefully. As he watched Lysander gave out to Tybalt while he tried to protest but it was clear that Lysander wasn't taking any of it. He was snapping at the younger boy and when Tyne tried to interrupt he shoved him roughly. To Albus's surprise Tybalt didn't fight back but merely sulked and eventually Lysander finished talking and went back to picking at his dinner bad-temperedly.

Then Tybalt looked up and Albus quickly turned away catching Rangi's eye further up his own table. He quickly looked at his plate pretending he hadn't noticed the fight. When he looked back at the Slytherin table Tyne wasn't looking his way but glaring at someone or something out of Albus's line of sight.

"What on earth do you think that was all about?" Philip asked looking confused.

"No idea." Albus replied honestly.

"Do you think it was about that scene in the Hall? Maybe Will knows something we don't." Philip wondered curiously.

"If he does, you know he won't tell us." Albus pointed out, "Anyway, it was probably nothing. Come on; let's leave the detective work to your brother."

Philip still looked suspicious but he did not protest as Albus changed the subject to the Quidditch League and they spent the rest of dinner chatting amiably.

* * *

James lay back on his four-poster bed with his new pet snake sitting contently on his chest. He didn't care if Blue and Alex were down in the common room having fun, he was perfectly happy up here by himself. He had made the snake's glass enclosure comfortable and had got some food for her. Then he gone looking for a name and finally found one he liked.

He had picked Valkyrie from Norse Mythology and she seemed to like it. He still wasn't sure what a valkyrie was but he liked the sound of it and the snake approved too.

"Valkyrie," Whispered James in parseltongue, "This is your home now. Are you happy?"

He peered up at the snake on his chest. There was something majestic about her. She peered back at him through glassy, yellow eyes as he gently stroked the top of her scaly head.

"Yes Dominum." Hissed the snake softly.

"Why do you call me that?" James asked.

"It means master. You are my master now?" The snake hissed watching him closely.

She was still quite small but James knew she'd grow. The Slytherin who James had won her off didn't know how old she was. He had been selling a number of different small animals but the snake had immediately caught James's eye and he had known immediately he had to get her.

"Yes. If you like." James told her.

The shining green snake hissed her approval and curled up on his chest just as Alex and Blue came in.

"Ugh! Stop whispering to it James! You're creeping me out." Muttered Alex as James continued talking to his to the snake comfortingly.

James sat up, glaring at his friend. The snake hissed and he took her in his hands.

"What?" Alex asked guiltily, "It's weird. I don't know what you're saying."

"That's one of the great things about parseltongue." James muttered. He liked having a language that only himself and his favourite animal could understand.

"Well, it's weird for the rest of us." Alex pointed out bluntly.

"Any luck with that?" James asked quickly spotting the book in Blue's hand.

It was called 'Lost Artifacts for Wizards with Too Much Time on their Hands' and James could immediately tell that Blue had been looking for the strange golden ornament that they had uncovered last year.

"Nothing." Blue sighed, "As usual."

"We'll find something soon." James reassured him but Blue looked pretty downtrodden.

"Can I see the statue, James?" Blue asked.

James took the golden ornament from the drawer of his bedside table gingerly, careful not to upset the snake wrapped around his hand. He tossed it carefully onto Alex bed from where Blue picked it up.

"What if Forrest and the statue aren't connected after all?" Alex suggested dumbly.

"Frankie Forrest gave those Dragon Bones to Hagrid, remember. That as good as certifies his connection." Blue said sternly as he studied the small statue.

"And he signed that letter FF." James pointed out.

"Okay then. So who was the letter for then? Hagrid?" Alex demanded.

Blue looked furious at this point. After all, he had been the one doing all the work and the research and now Alex was just blindly spitting out theories. James vented his anger, muttering to the serpent still coiled around his wrist.

"What did you just say?" Alex asked, his voice full of puzzlement.

"He said you're being stupid and he's not wrong either." Blue told him fiercely, "Why would Forrest leave a maze of riddles for Hagrid to follow? I'm very fond of Hagrid but let's be honest here, I doubt solving riddles is one of his strongest suits and besides, Hagrid was one of the clues. Why would he direct Hagrid to himself?"

Alex shrugged but James was now sitting bolt upright on his bed gaping at Blue. he had hardly heard the second half of what his friend had said. The first part had him completely fixated.

"W-what did you say?" James stuttered looking at Blue with wide eyes.

Blue looked at him in concern.

"Blue. How did you hear me when I said that about Alex?" James asked slowly.

Blue was looking rather alarmed by now, "I could hear you James. I'm not very far away."

"You don't understand." James told him quickly, "I wasn't speaking English."

* * *

**A/N: Well, I finally have time to write again. I know the last nine or so months, updates have been terribly thin on the ground and I want to thank everyone who had so much patience with me! I'm really, truly sorry about the wait. It's been a really challenging year for me and I really want to thank absolutely everyone who's kept reading and put up with waiting. **

**I want to thank my wonderful Beta Reader in particular for all the help and support and I'm so sorry for all the times that I've put you under more pressure when you're so busy yourself!**

**I'm so excited to be back to writing and I have so many plans! Please keep reading and reviewing and messaging me because that's what keeps me inspired!**

**Thanks again,**

**ASG**


	25. Parseltongue

**Chapter 25**

**Parseltongue**

Alex turned from James to Blue and back again, a look of pure confusion on his face.

"What are you talking about James?" Blue frowned, "I heard you."

"No. You heard me talk to Valkyrie." James insisted holding up the green serpent to make his point.

"What?" Blue asked with a hint of a laugh.

"I'm not kidding!" James protested.

Alex continued to look between the two from his position sitting on the floor. Valkyrie squirmed a little in James's hand and hissed, her long, thin tongue appearing and disappearing in an instant.

It was then that Blue froze. Staring wide-eyed at the snake as the colour drained from his face.

"James?" Blue asked shakily, "Did your snake just speak to me?"

James hadn't really been listening as Valkyrie had whispered but now he turned his full attention to the reptile.

"_Can he hear me James?_" Hissed the snake.

"I can hear you." Blue said.

Valkyrie kept her yellow eyes on James.

"_Yes._" James replied speaking directly to the snake.

"_He can understand us, James Dominum._" Valkyrie hissed to James in parseltongue, "_But he is not like us._"

"Say something back!" James told Blue fiercely.

Alex looked up at them looking terrified, "What's going on?" He demanded.

"I don't know! I don't get it!" Blue said frantically.

"Say something to me Blue! Say something in parseltongue." James insisted again.

Blue looked upset, "I - I can't!"

"Just pretend I'm a snake." James said earnestly, "Here say something to Valkyrie." He said forcing the snake at his friend.

Blue looked from Alex to James and then at the snake, "Eh... hi?" He said pathetically.

"_He can hear us Dominum but he does not have the tongue._" Valkyrie hissed as James withdrew her.

"_How is that possible?_" James demanded.

Valkyrie did not reply but Alex was starting to freak out now,

"I don't know what's going on!" He cried loudly jumping to his feet, "If this is some kind of prank guys - It's not funny!"

James paused, Blue and Alex both looked frightened but he was just confused. How was it possible for Blue to understand him speak in parseltongue when Blue was not a parselmouth.

"Let me see that statue." James said suddenly.

Blue passed it over to him as Valkyrie slithered off under James's bed cover.

"_Can you hear me Blue?_" James asked Blue in parseltongue.

"What? You hissed James! You hissed!" Blue yelped.

"Yes!" Alex exclaimed with frustration, "He's been doing that all night! What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that up until now I could understand him." Blue explained looking puzzled but more relaxed.

"Wow." Alex smiled, "I knew you were good at languages Blue but this is something else."

Blue sighed angrily, "I didn't suddenly pick up on parseltongue Alex! It doesn't work like that. Parseltongue is a hereditary ability. Other wizards can mimic it but they can't really understand it."

"So, what then?" Alex asked pulling a face, "Is James like... contagious or something?"

"No I am not contagious!" James insisted, "It's this."

He held up the statue of the snake to his friends.

"Can't you see! All this time, we've been trying to figure out it's abilities." James grinned, "This is it! We've found something."

"Give it to Alex." Blue urged.

James passed the statue to Alex who still looked very puzzled.

"_Hey Alex._" James hissed.

Alex just looked more confused,

"I don't get it? Was that parseltongue?" He frowned.

"Yes!" James said in English feeling frustrated.

"But it sounded just like English." Alex muttered still frowning.

"Exactly!" Blue cried with delight, "James is right! We've uncovered it's power."

"Oh." Alex said slowly looking down at the statue in his hands.

"You know guys, this could come in useful." James whispered in English.

He didn't know how yet but he was sure he would find a way to use this to his benefit. His thoughts filled with the mysterious possibilities as he gathered up Valkyrie in his arms. The other third years appeared in the doorway and the boys' discussion ended for the night.

* * *

"Letter from Rose?" Philip asked Albus the next morning sitting down next to him at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

"Yeah," Albus sighed in reply, lowering the letter, "She's all excited about some project she's doing. Is it selfish that it bugs me how happy she seems?"

Philip surveyed him as he he poured himself some orange juice, "Probably."

"She makes it seem like she doesn't even miss us." Albus said miserably.

"Don't be ridiculous." Philip smiled sympathetically, "Of course she does. She just doesn't want you to think you were right when you were telling her not to go."

Albus grinned.

"Here, have some toast before it goes cold." Philip insisted buttering his own slice.

Albus joined him and they ate until they were full.

"Hmm..." Philip frowned looking across the Hall, "You'll never believe this,"

"What?" Albus demanded glancing around.

"Will's sitting with the Slytherins this morning." Philip informed him.

Albus immediately scoured the Slytherin table and spotted the small, dark-haired figure of Willard Dursley, "What's he doing?"

Philip shrugged.

"Look who he's talking to!" Albus exclaimed.

He wasn't sure whether to be frightened or exasperated by Will's choice of company. Or the acceptance of a Gryffindor at the Slytherin table. He remembered how last year, when he had been friends with Paul, Paul could never sit at the Gryffindor table without getting into trouble with his housemates.

"I wonder what Malfoy wants with Will." Philip pondered seeing who Albus was referring to.

"Especially when he's less than popular with the other Slytherins." Albus pointed out remembering the scene with Tybalt.

"They don't seem to care now." Philip replied.

Albus spotted Tybalt far up the table from Scorpius and his friends and looking grumpy but no more than usual.

"And the King of Slytherin seems to approve." Philip continued with raised eyebrows pointing out Lysander near Tybalt looking smug.

Albus wasn't really sure why but the situation made him very uneasy. He continued to watch Scorpius and Paul until they left the hall. As they were leaving Scorpius caught his eye and gave an unfriendly smile.

"What do we have first?" Albus asked quickly looking away from Scorpius.

"Herbology." Philip told him and they headed off to the greenhouses.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later the Gryffindor and Slytherins had gathered in the greenhouse for their morning class.

"Okay class!" Called Albus's godfather Professor Longbottom.

The students stopped talking and turned to the teacher.

"Today we'll be pruning flutterby bushes! However, it won't be simple. We're going to have a competition to see who can clip their flutterby bush into the best shape!" Professor Longbottom grinned, "We've got to make it fair so everybody pair up in the following order."

Neville Longbottom produced a plant pot and began drawing out names and calling them out.

"Philip Pai with Emerson Watson."

Philip smiled at Albus before leaving and taking his place with Emerson. Albus smiled back but he wasn't happy, Emerson was another Gryffindor and Albus liked him but Philip was lucky and chances Albus had a feeling he would probably end up stuck with someone awful.

"Albus Potter with Scorpius Malfoy." Called Professor Longbottom.

Albus groaned, he could not have been more right!

Scorpius was wearing the same smirk as he was at breakfast as Albus sat down opposite him.

Professor Longbottom finished calling out the names and handed out hedge-clippers to each table. Albus completely ignored Scorpius and focused on the task at hand while Scorpius Malfoy sat back in his chair and crossed his arms idly.

Albus began to carefully trim the bush. He didn't care about the competition but he didn't want to destroy the plant either. When he glanced up, Scorpius was still gazing at him through bored eyes and wearing that stupid smirk.

"What?" Albus demanded bad-temperately. He was not in the mood to put up with any of the Slytherins nonsense.

"Nothing." Scorpius said innocently.

"Well then could you do something?"

"It's kind of a one-person job. This task is completely pointless." Scorpius pointed out.

"Fine then - study, if you think you're wasting your time." Albus snapped. He didn't care what Scorpius did so long as he left him alone.

"I'm good thanks." Scorpius smiled in reply.

Albus regarded him suspiciously. He hadn't had much interaction with Scorpius Malfoy so far this year. He was still his usual annoying self but he wasn't looking for trouble the way he had last year. Maybe he had learned his lesson. Albus went back to clipping the plant but suddenly he had a question he needed an answer to and this seemed to be his only opportunity to get at Malfoy without his thuggish friends.

"What did you want with Will this morning?" He demanded.

Now Scorpius smiled even more broadly. Albus could tell he had been waiting for this question.

"I like Dursley. I was happy to chat with him once I heard he'd rather be with us than you Gryffindorks." The Slytherin replied.

Albus glared at him.

"Besides," Scorpius continued, "He had plenty of interesting stories about you."

At this, Albus blushed an angry red. He went back to furiously clipping the plant,

"Do your friends know you spent the last night of term being carried around by _'Gryffindorks'_?" Albus asked.

This finally got to Scorpius. He sat up straight and then leant forwards across the table, his expression completely different from the carefree smirk of before.

"No." He snapped, "All they know is that I did your dare and _broke three ribs_."

"Technically you didn't complete the dare." Albus pointed out dropping the clippers again and looking Scorpius in the eye.

"_Technically_, you almost killed me." Scorpius spat.

This shut Albus up.

They finished the class in silence. Albus's bush looked a little scruffy and boxy but it was okay. Amanda and her partner won the competition and they got a bar of Honeydukes chocolate each. Albus clapped and smiled at her as she bashfully collected her winnings and Neville delighted over the Flutterby bush, now shaped into a giant butterfly.

As soon as class had ended Albus rejoined Philip and they left the greenhouse.

"How was Malfoy?" Asked Philip pulling a face.

"His usual charming self." Replied Albus sarcastically.

"Did he say anything that we should report to Rangi?" Asked Philip half-serious, half-jokingly.

"No but I did ask him about talking to Will this morning." Albus answered.

"And?"

"He says he likes him."

"No offense to your family or anything but I find it hard to believe that anyone _'likes'_ Will Dursley." Philip said biting his lip.

"Me too." Shrugged Albus, "But then again, Scorpion-face isn't the most likable guy in the world either."

"Somehow I get the feeling we haven't heard the last of this." Philip sighed, "Have you told Rose about the ASL?"

"No." Albus said with a small smile, "I know what she'd say."

"To stay out of trouble?" Philip guessed.

"That and that we're being paranoid." Albus replied.

"I know it's silly but sometimes I think Rangi might be on to something."

Albus looked sideways at Philip.

"Well there's definitely something weird going on with Lysander." Philip continued backing himself up, "I don't like that guy and I don't like the power he seems to have gathered in Slytherin house. Tybalt Tyne is acting like his loyal puppy and sometimes I even spot Paul popping up around him."

"Well, _'on to something'_ or not, I'm not too thrilled to be wrapped up in one of Rangi's crazy plans," Albus admitted, "And I'm definitely not going to start causing trouble for the Slytherins."

* * *

**A/N: I'm going to be taking the poll off my profile on July 8th because it will have been there for a year and I want something a little different - so if you want to vote for your favourite character, this is your last chance!**

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**

**ASG **


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